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Operators of Scheme That Targeted Hispanic Consumers Are Banned From Telemarketing Under Settlement with FTC
Defendants Falsely Promised Consumers Could Get Big Returns by Selling High-End Goods
Cream Group, Inc., which operates as Oro Marketing, and its mastermind Sami Charchian have agreed to a permanent ban on telemarketing to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they targeted Spanish-speaking women with false promises that they could make money reselling brand-name goods, such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren.
The agency alleged that, far from fulfilling their promises, the California-based defendants charged hundreds of dollars up-front for shoddy, generic products. The FTC settlements require Oro and Sami Charchian to turn over virtually all of their assets to the agency, and prohibit them from deceiving consumers in any future sales pitches.
“These defendants preyed on people who were just trying to make an honest living,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Consumers are better off now that the defendants are out of the telemarketing business.”
http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-rel...rce=govdelivery