PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne announced a consent judgment on Tuesday against two companies and their owner alleging they engaged in fraudulent telemarketing schemes that sold work-at-home business opportunities.
Kiloh Smith and his companies, Southwest Marketing Technology LLC and Namaste Group LLC, allegedly engaged in multiple violations of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act while selling the business opportunities to consumers throughout the U.S. Horne alleged Smith and his companies failed to file a bond with the Arizona State Treasurer's office, failed to register with the Arizona Secretary of State's office, failed to provide consumers with written and verbal notice of their right to cancel, charging consumers' debit or credit cards before at least five days had passed, and failure to provide consumers with a business opportunity disclosure statement and contract.
“Seniors continue to be victims of business opportunity fraud,” Horne said. “In these cases, I have obtained orders banning those who run these schemes from telemarketing in Arizona or making money from work at home scams in order to prevent future fraud.”
Under the terms of the consent judgment, Smith and his companies must pay $21,600 for consumer restitution, attorney fees and civil penalties. The defendants are also prohibited from selling business opportunities or engaging in any type of outbound telemarketing in Arizona or to Arizonans. In addition, the judgment prohibits the defendants from contesting any consumer chargeback requests.