FTC Action Halts Telemarketers Who Sold Bogus Credit Cards

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2012 – Allegedly Charged Illegal Up-Front Fee, Took Consumers’ Money Without Their Consent

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has temporarily halted a telemarketing operation that allegedly sold bogus credit cards and took money from consumers’ bank accounts without their consent.  The court ordered the defendants’ assets frozen and appointed a receiver to control the business, pending resolution of the case.  As part of the FTC’s ongoing crackdown on schemes that prey on financially strapped consumers, the agency seeks to permanently stop the illegal practices and make the defendants pay refunds to consumers.

According to the FTC’s complaint and pleadings, the defendants have taken in at least $ 4.82 million in less than three years, including more than 10,000 sales during a recent two-month period.  Doing business as Platinum Trust Card and Express Platinum Card, they operate in the Philadelphia area, but they engage……………. continues on Sacramento Bee