Jon Bruning (R)
LINCOLN, Neb. (Legal Newsline)-A former Omaha, Neb., food company is returning more than $100,000 to 34 Nebraska consumers, Attorney General Jon Bruning said Tuesday.
Consumer's Choice Foods was accused of leading customers into believing they would save money and time by signing up for the company's food delivery service.
The attorney general's office said consumers from 1995 to 2002 were told they would receive a free gift, which was many times a freezer, for signing up for the service.
But consumers ultimately paid high prices for food and more than $4,000 for the freezer, which the company purchased for $500-$750, the AG's office said in a statement.
The 34 consumers will receive checks ranging from around $100 to more than $5,000, officials said.
"This is money that's going back into the pockets of affected families during tough economic times," Bruning said.
In 26 cases, the attorney general's office said CCF customers signed a membership contract based upon misrepresentations by the company that they would receive a free freezer, but customers later discovered the contract actually obligated them to buy the freezer for well above fair market value.
In August, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that Jayco Acceptance Corp., the company that financed Consumer's Chioice Foods and purchased the contracts sold to its customers, was liable
for the former company's actions.
The state's high court affirmed a Lancaster County District Court's 2007 decision that required $107,483 in restitution to consumers.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.