Blumenthal
HARTFORD, Conn. - An eServices provider recently reached a pair of settlements, including one with Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
Blumenthal was critical of the business practices of StoresOnline, Inc., also known as iMergent, Inc. He says the company makes exaggerated and deceptive claims regarding virtual storefronts to online businesses.
"StoresOnline, Inc., capitalizes on consumer dreams, promising superior and state-of-the-art products," Blumenthal said. "This settlement requires that reality match the hype."
The settlement came Monday, a week before StoresOnline will start holding recruitment seminars around the state. The company will pay $65,000 to the State and $65,000 to an estimate 10-12 consumers eligible for restitution.
"This settlement bars StoresOnline, Inc., from making exaggerated and deceptive claims about its products and requires restitution to consumers," Blumenthal said. "I urge consumers attending this company's seminars to ask tough questions and demand honest answers.
"Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
Another suit, a class action complaint filed in federal court in 2005, alleged a violation of federal securities law. The company agreed to pay $2.8 million to the plaintiffs.
The settlement was proposed in September, but not approved until March 19 by Utah federal judge Dee Benson. The complaint alleged the company misrepresented its financial situation and concealed that its sales practices violated the laws of many states in which it operated.