| Johnson to fight injunction | |
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Scott Kerbs skerbs@thespectrum.com The Spectrum | |
ST. GEORGE - A hearing on a preliminary injunction is scheduled in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas today, to determine whether to continue a temporary freeze on the assets of St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson and 61 corporations following a Federal Trade Commission complaint alleging illegal business practices. Johnson, who is well known in Southern Utah for assisting in local search and rescue operations, is one of ten defendants facing charges related to allegedly victimizing hundreds of thousands of consumers by charging them without their permission through Internet companies. The FTC alleges Johnson and the other defendants made millions through iWorks and related Internet companies "by luring consumers into 'trial' memberships for bogus government-grant and money-making schemes, and then repeatedly charging them monthly fees for these and other memberships that they never signed up for." The FTC alleges consumers lost $275 million through iWorks and related companies. FTC attorney Collot Guerard said a preliminary injunction is necessary to continue the freeze on Johnson's assets. "The FTC is seeking to get money back to consumers that we see as victims of the iWorks enterprise," she said, adding that the freeze would prevent the defendants from spending the assets prior to the court's ruling. While the court is expected to determine whether the FTC has presented sufficient evidence to warrant the continuation of the asset freeze, Guerard said she is uncertain if the U.S. District Court judge will make a ruling today. A federal judge initially froze Johnson's assets by approving a motion for a temporary restraining order on Jan. 13, filed by the FTC. Despite repeated attempts Wednesday, The Spectrum was unable to reach Johnson's attorney Michael Shaw for comment before deadline. In a court document in opposition to the preliminary injunction filed this week, Johnson's attorneys challenge the FTC's allegations, arguing that iWorks' met or exceeded industry standards by providing multiple disclosures to its customers with information about monthly fees following trial memberships. "Every consumer receives at least three 'unavoidable' disclosures of the material terms and conditions of both the core and upsell products before any monthly charges were incurred," Johnson's attorneys stated in the document. According to the document, iWorks offered its customers a database to access information about available private and public grants and instructions for completing grant applications. Johnson's attorney's also contested claims that iWorks provided misleading testimonials, arguing that a majority of testimonials are identified as belonging to customers who received funds through the company's "Grant-a-Day" program. "Further, all testimonials were accompanied by disclaimers stating that results might vary," according to the document. In the court document, Johnson's attorney's said iWorks developed and obtained rights to market a variety of products and programs, including "grant-funding programs, income generation programs and health and fitness products." Responding to the document submitted by Johnson's attorneys, the FTC filed a document entitled "Plaintiff's reply in support of its motion for a preliminary injunction," Tuesday. The FTC said the document submitted by Johnson's attorneys "fails to advance a single argument or a shred of evidence that raises any meaningful doubt that the FTC is likely to succeed," According to the document, the FTC argues that Johnson's attorney's did not challenge or dispute key findings, including a failure to dispute the FTC's calculation of more than $275 million in consumer losses and an inability to provide information about any customers that received grants by using iWorks services aside from those who received funds from the company's "Grant-a-Day" program. | |
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published February 10, 2011 | |
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