HOUSTON (Legal Newsline) - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze Thursday against a specialized dating service that targeted senior citizens, disabled individuals and veterans.
Abbott filed a lawsuit against Javier Luna and multiple entities, including Sagejax Inc., Matchmaker and Monterrey Financial Services Inc. for allegedly misleading customers about the nature of the services and violating Texas debt collection laws.
The defendants allegedly made cold calls to certain individuals to encourage them to join the fee-based dating service. During the calls, potential customers were allegedly told that thousands of individuals were on the dating service's database, when that was not the case. The defendants also allegedly falsely claimed to have an endorsement from the Better Business Bureau.
The defendants encouraged potential customers interested in the dating service to visit their office for an in-person consultation. The defendants allegedly charged between $3,000 and $10,000 for their services. Individuals who decided not to join the service were told to pay a termination fee or face a debt collection action by Monterrey Financial.
Abbott's office determined that the debt collection defendant failed to file a bond as a security, as is required by Texas law.
Abbott's lawsuit seeks to secure frozen assets to satisfy a future judgment by the court on behalf of people harmed by the defendants. The lawsuit alleges the defendants violated the Texas Telephone Solicitation Act, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Finance Code.
Texas AG gets order against senior dating service
