U.S. Court Bars Firm and Owner From Deceptive Telemarketing
A federal judge has barred an individual and a company from engaging in deceptive marketing and ordered them to pay $15,000 in consumer redress.
The action in U. S. District Court in Chicago closes the case against Mishele Wells and her company, Simax Corp. The defendants allegedly targeted U.S. consumers with no credit or poor credit histories with promises of advance-fee credit cards that were never provided.
The Federal Trade Commission brought the case in November 2004 as part of a cross-border fraud law enforcement initiative that involved Canadian law enforcers.
The FTC alleged that three individuals and their companies falsely claimed that consumers who paid fees ranging from $159 to $236 would be guaranteed a low-interest rate, high-credit limit, and no-annual-fee MasterCard or Visa card. Starting in 1999, the defendants operated boiler rooms in Toronto, targeting U.S. consumers with no credit or poor credit histories, the Commission charged.
But victims did not receive the cards, the FTC continued. Instead, they got packages containing coupons and discounts for travel, recreation, automobile services, medical plans, satellite service, and cellular telephones, the FTC alleged.
The complaint also stated that the group of companies was owned and operated by Paul Price and Elissa R. Price, a/k/a Lisa Price and Lisa Wells. The court entered a temporary restraining order against the defendants in November 2004, and a stipulated preliminary injunction against them that December, halting their cross-border telemarketing activities, according to the FTC.
Also named as defendants were: 1284383 Ontario Inc., d/b/a First National Credit Services and Direct Service Management; 1309529 Ontario Inc., d/b/a U.S. National Credit; Simax d/b/a America’s Gift House; as well as Wells, Elissa Price’s sister. The current action settles the FTC’s charges against Wells and Simax.
Litigation against the Prices continues. Orders of default have been entered against all remaining corporate defendants.
