The Federal Trade Commission charged an Ohio-based company and its owner with fraudulently claiming on 17 websites they operated that consumers could quickly get out of debt by working with one of several debt settlement companies. The company owner, Ryan Golembiewski, has agreed to a settlement barring the deceptive claims, and to a judgment requiring him to pay more than $390,000.
Golembiewski and a company he controlled, United Debt Associates, were “lead generators” paid by debt settlement companies to refer consumers who responded to the deceptive ads, according to the complaint. Using websites such as legitimatedebtsettlement.com, debtreliefemergency.com, DebtDecreaser.com, freedebtreductionhelp.com, and disputedebts.com, and earning approximately $24.60 per lead generated, the defendants directed consumers to either provide their contact information online, or call a toll-free number for help with their credit card debt. Consumers who called either were routed directly to the debt settlement companies or were asked to provide preliminary information to the defendants, the complaint stated.
According to the complaint, the deceptive claims the defendants used to entice consumers to contact them included:
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