A Big-Time Scheme That Cost Consumers $275 Million

Had to pass this one along: Schemes don’t get much bigger. The FTC moved on three people who allegedly bilked consumers out of $275 million in trial memberships in bogus government-grant and money-making schemes.

Here is the FTC’s release from last week:

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court for permission to charge three persons and five companies they control with improperly receiving at least $22 million from a scheme that allegedly bilked consumers out of more than $275 million with deceptive “trial” memberships for bogus government-grant and money-making schemes.

In December 2010, the FTC charged the I Works operation, controlled by Jeremy Johnson and nine other individuals, with violating federal law. The court subsequently froze the assets of Johnson and 61 corporations and appointed a court-supervised receiver to help ensure that money can be returned to consumers if the case is resolved in the FTC’s favor.

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