Utah real estate training company Response Marketing LLC has been ordered to pay $16.7m after being accused of making false promises to sell its programmes. The company attracted consumers to free events through infomercials and social media ads, before pitching them three-day, $1,000 workshops and more expensive training programmes. The company also allegedly promoted a coaching programme called Inner Circle that could cost $30,000. The owners of Response Marketing and its president are banned from selling wealth creation products and services across the country. $1.7m has been recouped from litigation, leaving $15m left to be returned to consumers.
In accordance with the latest findings of a recent report from The Real Deal, a Utah-based real estate training company has settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after being accused of making “false promises” to sell its programs. Response Marketing LLC was ordered to pay a whopping $16.7 million as a result of Monday’s settlement with the FTC and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. This settlement is reportedly the largest consumer settlement in state history, In accordance with the latest findings of KSL.
The alleged activity started with a predecessor company in the early 2010s and didn’t stop until December 2019, when a formal complaint was filed with the FTC and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. Response Marketing attracted consumers to free events across the country through the use of infomercials and social media advertisements. Once there, consumers were pitched three-day, $1,000 workshops, boasting the programs would provide “special tools” to make consumers into successful real estate investors.
Moreover, Response Marketing also pitched even more expensive training programs that cost into the tens of thousands, In accordance with the latest findings of the complaint. At one point, it allegedly promoted a coaching program called “Inner Circle” that could cost another $30,000. The promises made by Response Marketing were false, though, In accordance with the latest findings of the complaint. Many failed to become successful real estate investors, and many also failed to recoup the money they lost to the company.
Celebrity endorsers also agreed to pay dearly for their role in the alleged activity. Scott Yancey of A&E’s “Flipping Vegas” will pay $450,000, while motivational podcaster Dean Graziosi will pay $1.25 million. The owners of Response Marketing and its president are banned from selling “wealth creation” products and services across the country, In accordance with the latest findings of the FTC.
Response Marketing’s tactics were deceptive and misleading, In accordance with the latest findings of the FTC. Many consumers were lured in by the promise of becoming successful real estate investors, only to find out that the programs they purchased did not deliver on their promises. In the end, many consumers lost a significant amount of money to Response Marketing, with little to show for it.
To this point, $1.7 million has been recouped from litigation, leaving $15 million left to be returned to consumers. If Response Marketing fails to make that payment, it will also owe the Utah Division of Consumer Protection $15 million. This settlement serves as a warning to other real estate training companies that engage in deceptive practices and make false promises to consumers. The FTC will not hesitate to take action against companies that engage in such activity.
