Suthers
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - Two Englewood-based businesses are the target of a lawsuit filed Friday by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers alleging that they have defrauded over 700 since July 2006.
Owners Tyrone E. Tymkovich and Sam Levine or their employees at Corporate Acquisitions Group and Global Acquisitions Group would allegedly approach small businesses, informing them that buyers were interested in acquiring their firms or that their business could be sold.
Tymkovich, Levine and their employees allegedly convinced more than 700 businesses in Colorado and other states to allow them to appraise their businesses for $5,000. Approximately $1,000 of that money was devoted to completing the appraisals.
During the courting process for clients, Tymkovich, Levine and their employees are accused of lying to the client businesses about the success of Corporate Acquisitions Group and Global Acquisitions Group.
The two owners are alleged to have created promotional materials stating that revenues of $7 million had been taken in 2007 and implied that the profits arose from sale commissions. Of the $2.8 million reported by Tymkovich and Levine's businesses over the last two years, sale commissions accounted for less than $100,000. The remaining $2.7 million came from the charging of appraisal fees, Suthers said.
Clients were also allegedly given a money-back guarantee by Tymkovich and Levine in the event of no sale occurring. The refund, however, was only given if a business complained to either the Better Business Bureau or the authorities, the complaint says.
Suthers is seeking an order from an Arapahoe County District Court Judge to stop Tymkovich and Levine's fraudulent business operations and to bar them from committing fraud in the future. The order would also seek restitution from the two owners.