A set of final judgments and orders has been issued settling charges against two Florida-based principals and the corporations they ran for misleading consumers into believing they could earn up to $3,000 per week stuffing envelopes at home.
While the consumers -- many of whom had responded to misleading e-mail spam messages -- were told they would be paid $10 for each enveloped they stuffed, they soon found out this was untrue and that they were, in fact, simply mailing out more of the defendants' fraudulent solicitations.
Under the court judgments and orders, the defendants are barred from making similar deceptive pitches in the future and from violating the CAN-SPAM Act by sending e-mails with misleading subject headers or other means.
Brought as part of an initiative targeting fraudulent work-at-home business opportunities, the Federal Trade Commission's complaint charged the defendants with using spam, Web sites, and direct mail circulars to promote false earnings claims about envelope-stuffing and mailing opportunities.
According to the Web sites and spam, defendants claimed they would pay $10 plus postage cost for each envelope consumers stuffed and mailed, and promised substantial income, ranging from $550 to $3,000 per week.
Consumers paid a fee of $65 to $160 up-front for a package of supplies from the defendants after being promised "BIG PAYCHECKS Within TWO WEEKS . . . If you Act NOW!" While consumers did receive the envelope-stuffing materials, they soon discovered they were simply sending out more solicitations for the defendants' purported business opportunities. None made the money the defendants promised and none were reimbursed for postage either.
According to the complaint, the defendants violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by deceptively representing that:
1) consumers were likely to earn a substantial amount of money from the envelope-stuffing business;
2) the defendants would pay $10 for each envelope stuffed and mailed by consumers; and
3) the defendants would pay the cost of postage consumers spent to mail the envelopes they stuffed.
In addition, the complaint charged the defendants with further violating the FTC Act by providing consumers with the means to entice others into this type of fraud -- by mailing out solicitations for new customers -- and violating the CAN-SPAM Act by sending commercial e-mails that contained deceptive subject headings.
After a temporary restraining order and asset freeze was entered against the defendants on February 11, 2005, two principals and the corporations stipulated to preliminary injunctions on March 1, 2005. A third principal was later dismissed from the action.
These newest action resolve the Commission's charges against the following defendants: Sun Ray Trading, Inc., a Florida corporation; SR & Associates, Inc., a Florida corporation; Rolando Galvez-Garcia, aka Rolando Galvez, individually and as an officer of one or more of the corporations; Anneelises Flores Adino, aka Annielises Flores, Annielises H. Flores, Annie Flores, and Anny Florez, individually and as an officer of one or more of the corporations; and Kostadin Osvaldo Marte Tavarez, aka Kostadin Marte. Defendant Flores was dismissed from this matter.
