WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced April 12 that three marketers have been banned from selling debt relief, credit repair and financial products and services after allegedly selling phony debt relief services.
The defendants, Jeremy Lee Marcus, Craig Davis Smith and Yisbet Segrea, purportedly duped consumers into debt relief contracts. The consumers would then pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for services that were never actually rendered. Victims of the scam allegedly would come to learn that their debts were still unpaid, their accounts in default and their credit scores lower. This was despite the defendants had promised the consumers they would resolve the debt and improve the credit.
The FTC voted 2-0 to approve the stipulated final orders against Marcus, Smith and Segrea.
Assisting in the case were the Florida’s Office of the Attorney General, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Iowa’s Office of the Attorney General, Ohio’s Office of the Attorney General, Minnesota’s Office of the Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.