An officer of Triad Discount Buying Service Inc. has settled with the Federal Trade Commission over allegedly misleading consumers in a telemarketing club membership scheme. The settlement comes after the firm’s owner, Ira Smolev, agreed to pay $9 million last October to settle similar charges with a number of states and the FTC.
Among a number of terms, the officer, Richard Kaylor, agreed to post a $1 million bond before engaging in any telemarketing or sales involving negative options. He also must pay $137,500 for consumer redress, the FTC said in a statement. Kaylor was also named in the settlements with the states.
Both Kaylor, Smolev and others are involved with a number of related Florida-based companies identified in both the state and FTC complaints.
Triad Discount Buying Inc. had been sued by the attorneys general of Florida and Missouri for deceiving consumers into purchasing club memberships and then billing their credit or debit cards without authorization.
The schemes, some of which were run with partner companies, netted $294 million and hooked 2 million people in just a couple of years. At the time, the promotions were also being investigated by 24 other states and the FTC. (DIRECT Newsline, October 24, 2001).
Network
