MIAMI (Legal Newsline) – The Federal Trade Commission announced that, along with the state of Florida, it has settled charged with Vast Tech Support LLC and OMG Tech Help LLC over allegations the company scammed thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars through the sale of bogus tech support services.
The FTC opened a claim against the defendants in 2014, alleging they used software designed to trick consumers into thinking their computers had problems. According to the FTC, the defendants would then direct the consumers to telemarketers who pressured them into purchasing tech support products through deceptive sales pitches. The FTC and the state of Florida charged the defendants with violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the FTC Act, as well as the Florida Deceptive Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Under the terms of the settlement, Vast Tech Support and OMG Tech Help and chief operating officer, Mark Donohue, cannot mislead consumers in the future about the nature of their products. The stipulated final orders mandate that Donohue pay a judgment of $9,177,000. This payment will be suspended due to Donohue’s alleged financial condition. Vast Tech and OMG Help have been given a monetary judgment of more than $27.2 million. This will be partially suspended; the companies must surrender all assets to a court receiver.