Would You Settle With The FTC?

(CN) - The FTC charged two companies with defrauding Spanish-speakers in ads that promise thousands of dollars for stuffing envelopes at home. After running ads such as, "Would you stuff 80 envelopes to earn $1,400 per week?" the companies demand payment up front, then send only another sales pitch - or nothing, the FTC says.

International Marketing, run out of Puerto Rico by Zoilo Cruz Carrion, ran Spanish-language ads that stated, "Would you stuff 80 envelopes to earn $1,400 per week?" and, "Your pay IS GUARANTEED in advance for the envelopes you stuff," the FTC said in its lawsuit in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Federal Court. But after taking a $37 fee, Cruz sent only a pamphlet telling his suckers to run their own ads. The Commission charged him with violating the FTC act.

Min Sung Kim and the ironically named Integrity Marketing Team settled a similar case in Miami Federal Court. They took $45 up front and fraudulently promised $17.50 per stuffed envelope and a weekly income of $1,400. A federal judge stopped the scam in August 2007 and froze their assets. Co-defendant Byron Peterson settled charges against him in April. Kim settled for $1.3 million, which will be suspended upon payment of $115,000.

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