A business operation that the Federal Trade Commission alleges lured consumers into spending thousands of dollars for Internet domains and advertising with promises of links to the sites of major retailers has been shut down.
The FTC used a court order in Arizona to stop the allegedly deceptive practices by North American Marketing and Associates LLC, freezing the company’s assets.
The FTC, in its complaint, said the company charged consumers $100 to $400 to build and operate the websites, which were supposed to make money when people clinked links on the sites to purchase merchandise from “Fortune 500″ sites such as Walmart and Best Buy.
Promises of free marketing assistance turned into requests for additional advertising money, from $5,000 to $20,000. As more consumers complained, the business would shut down and reopen under a new name.
The corporate defendants are North American Marketing and Associates LLC, NAMAA LLC, TM Multimedia Marketing LLC (Nevada), TM Multimedia Marketing LLC (Arizona), National Opportunities LLC (Nevada), National Opportunities LLC (Arizona), World Wide Marketing and Associates LLC, Precious Metals Resource LLC, Guaranteed Communications LLC, Superior Multimedia Group LLC, and Wide World of Marketing LLC, also doing business as WWM LLC.
The individual defendants are Kimberly Joy Birdsong, Tracy Jerome Morris, Sarah Lynne Stapel, Alyisse Maloi Tramel, and Daniel Vigil, and Joseph Wayne Lowry, also known as Joey Lowry and Joey Lowe.
The defendants are charged with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule.
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One Response to FTC Stops Own-Your-Website Scheme
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I could not be happier learning of this news. In 2010 North America Marketing and Associates, LLC and TM Multimedia Marketing, LLC scammed me of $10,239.00. I filed a report with every agencies I could think of in hopes that some day these criminals would be caught. Through my research I realized that these scammers have been operating these deceptful schemes as far back as 2005. When complaints against them get to be too great they change addresses, phone numbers(sometimes), personal names, and company names. When they register their “New” companies in whatever state they choose – Arizona,Neveda – and use false names – falsifying legal documents… isn’t that a felony or something, requiring jail time? A fine and a slap on the hand won’t do any good. These criminals will just change their names and start another scam and rob thousands of innocent people of every penny they have.