WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Dec. 14 that the operators of an alleged work-at-home scheme have been banned from selling business opportunities and business coaching services.
The defendants are Bobby J. Robinson, Michael Sirois, Bob Robinson LLC, Mega Export 2005 Inc., Mega Export USA Inc., and Netcore Solutions LLC. The FTC says the defendants operated their scheme under various names—Work At Home EDU, Work At Home Program, Work At Home Ecademy, Work At Home University, Work At Home Revenue, and Work at Home Institute.
According to the FTC, the defendants violated the FTC Act and the FTC’s Business Opportunity Rule. The defendants purportedly used “native” advertising, which is when promotional content appears next to similar-looking non-advertising material. The FTC says the defendants misrepresented material facts about its products and services.
To settle the allegations, the defendants agreed to a partially suspended judgment of $35.1 million. They will turn over funds and assets worth roughly $1.5 million. Additionally, the defendants agreed to be banned from misrepresenting its products or services in the future.
The FTC voted 2-0 to approve the stipulated final orders, which were entered Dec. 7 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas.