The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is distributing $12 million in payments to customers caught in a real estate house-flipping scheme operated by Zurixx, LLC.
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is distributing $12 million in payments to customers caught up in a real estate house-flipping scheme operated by Zurixx, LLC, according to information released this week.
According to the FTC, over 25,000 customers paid Zurixx, a real estate investment coaching business, for coaching endorsed by real estate television personalities. The government claimed that the company made empty promises about flipping or wholesaling properties for profit.
The FTC listed Tarek and Christina El Moussa, Hilary Farr, Peter Souhleris and David Seymour as celebrities who bolstered Zurixx sales.
“Preying on struggling Americans with empty promises of quick riches is against the law,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said. “We urge consumers to stop and evaluate the facts behind any money-making promise before investing their hard-earned money.”
The Utah Department of Commerce Division of Consumer Protection and the FTC sued Zurixx and its owners, Christopher Cannon, James Carlson and Jeffrey Spangler, back in September 2019.
The suing agencies alleged that Zurixx owners and numerous associated companies sold live seminars and telephone coaching using misleading earnings claims. They convinced customers to spend thousands using celebrity endorsements and contract terms restricting consumers’ ability to review their products or speak to law enforcement agencies.
Celebrities allegedly invited customers to free “seminars” that were really sales events for paid seminars, costing nearly $2,000. Presenters at the seminars encouraged attendees to sign up for new credit cards, promising that profits from flipping homes would pay off the new credit card debts, according to a statement the FTC released in 2022.
In February 2022, the defendants agreed to a settlement, including $12 million to be refunded to customers and over $111 million in monetary judgments, $104.7 million against Zurixx and other corporate defendants, and $2.33 million against Zurixx owners.
Zurixx was banned from marketing and selling real estate or business coaching programs. The business was also barred from violations of the FTC’s Telemarking Sales Rule and Utah’s Business Opportunity Disclosure and Telephone Acts.
“Many victims will finally be getting some justice,” Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement. “Removing these actors permanently from the coaching space is a significant win for Utah. We hope this serves as a warning to others who might consider setting up similar programs based on false earnings claims.”
To help customers learn more about their FTC refunds, The FTC provided this FAQ resource.
