September 27 , 2005 -- The Federal Trade Commission today announced federal court action taken against two groups of Canadian-based defendants, each allegedly engaged in widespread cross-border fraud schemes. In the first complaint, FTC v. Centurion Financial Benefits , the Commission alleges the defendants placed unsolicited outbound telemarketing calls to U.S. consumers, falsely offering them pre-approved MasterCard and Visa credit cards for an advance fee of $249. The second complaint, FTC v. Pacific Liberty Benefits, alleges the defendants engaged in the same type of fraud, with the company's telemarketers promising credit cards, as well as an array of “complimentary” gifts, for $319. The FTC alleges that in neither case did consumers actually receive the credit cards or other goods that they were promised, and in each U.S. consumers lost millions of dollars.

“The Commission continues to work diligently to monitor, track, and prosecute cross-border fraud cases,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We value the assistance of our local, state, and international law enforcement partners in bringing these important cases to help protect and inform consumers both in the United States and abroad.”

In each case, the Commission contends the defendants' conduct violated Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), as amended. Judges in the U.S. district court in Chicago, Illinois have issued temporary restraining orders barring the alleged illegal conduct and freezing the assets of defendants. In each case, Canadian law enforcement agencies also executed criminal search warrants and made arrests.

Centurion Financial Benefits

According to the first complaint, since at least 2004, the Centurion Financial Benefits defendants have used outbound telemarketing to contact consumers in the United States, falsely offering major credit cards, such as MasterCard and Visa, to people who agreed to have the defendants electronically debit their bank accounts for an advance fee of $249. The defendants typically claimed that the credit cards would have a $2,000 credit limit, zero percent interest, and no annual fees, and often targeted their offers at consumers with poor credit histories. Consumers who provided their bank account information to the defendants did not receive a major credit card, but instead were sent an application for either a “stored value card” or “cash card” that had no line of credit associated with it and could only be used if the consumer first loaded funds onto the card. The complaint also alleges that the defendants violated the law by calling consumers on the FTC's National Do Not Call Registry.

The Centurion matter, filed on September 21, 2005, involved a number of corporate and individual defendants. The complaint names the following individuals as defendants, both individually and as corporate officers: Sean Somma aka Sean Soma, individually and as an officer of corporate defendants Centurion Financial Benefits LLC and 1629936 Ontario Ltd, also dba Spectra Financial Benefits; Antonio Marchese aka Tony Marchese, individually and as an officer of corporate defendant 1644738 Ontario Ltd., also dba Sureway Beneficial, Simple Choice Benefits, and Oxford Financial Benefits; Tony Andreopoulos, individually and as an officer of corporate defendants American Getaway Vacations Inc., Credence Travel Processing Inc., and Topstar Media Inc., also dba Integra Financial Benefits; and Dennis Andreopoulos, individually and as an officer of corporate defendants American Getaway Vacations Inc., Credence Travel Processing Inc., and Topstar Media Inc., also dba Integra Financial Benefits.

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