The Federal Trade Commission has charged two companies and two individuals with making false and unsubstantiated earnings claims in the telemarketing and sale of a real estate opportunity program.
The program, according to the FTC, purports to teach consumers how to make large amounts money quickly and in their spare time by buying and selling privately-held mortgage notes held by individuals rather than financial institutions. The Commission alleges that these business practices violate the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).
The complaint names John Stefanchik and Beringer Corporation, based in Seattle, WA, and Scott Christensen and Atlas Marketing Inc., based in Salt Lake City, UT, collectively doing business as the Stefanchik Organization. According to the complaint, the defendants charge consumers as much as $5000 to $8000 for “The Stefanchik Program,” which purports to teach consumers how to make large amounts of money quickly by buying and selling privately-held mortgage notes, which defendants commonly refer to as mortgage “paper.”
The defendants allegedly advertise the program, which includes course materials, in-person seminars, videotapes, audio tapes, and other educational products and services, through direct mail and telemarketers and online. They represent that consumers can quickly earn $10,000 a month in their spare time if they follow the program.
In addition, the defendants offer to provide consumers with the services of a personal coach experienced in mortgage paper transactions. According to the FTC, virtually no consumers have made any money using the Stefanchik Program, and the personal coaches do not have the promised experience and often are not readily available to consumers.
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