The money will go to approximately 25,563 consumers who paid Utah-based Zurixx LLC for a real estate investment training program that promised they could earn large amounts of money by buying and selling homes for a profit, a practice also known as flipping.
According to the FTC, Zurixx, which is owned by Cristopher Cannon, James Carlson, and Jeffrey Spangler, made “empty promises” and “misleading” comments to customers who purchased the real estate investment training program.
The company sold live seminars and telephone coaching using false earnings claims that convinced consumers to hand over thousands or tens of thousands of dollars so that they could flip houses using Zurixx’s system, the agency said.
Zurixx and its owners further sought to boost sales by partnering with home-improvement and house-flipping television personalities including, among others, HGTV stars Tarek and Christina El Moussa, Hilary Farr, and A&E’s Peter Souhleris and Dave Seymour, the FTC said.
Zurixx’s seminars were in fact “high-pressure sales events” where seminar presenters “encouraged consumers to open new credit cards to pay for the training, promising that the profits from flipping or wholesaling homes would quickly pay off the new debt,” according to the agency.
After the initial seminars, customers were further pressured to purchase more expensive seminars and coaching that often cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Many customers who sought refunds from Zurixx were made to sign agreements barring them from speaking with the FTC, state attorneys general, and other regulators, or from submitting complaints to the Better Business Bureau, the FTC said.
‘Significant Win for Utah’
Zurixx agreed to a settlement in February 2022. Under the terms of that settlement, Zurixx is permanently banned from marketing or selling any real estate or business coaching programs, from making misleading earnings claims, and from using contract terms to restrict consumers’ ability to review their products or speak to law enforcement agencies.Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement that the settlement means many victims of the scheme will finally get “some justice.”
“Thousands who were coached into fraudulent investments by Zurixx owners will receive checks from this substantial settlement,” he said.
“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 earning claims.”
According to the FTC, eligible consumers should begin receiving settlement checks from the agency starting this month.
The agency advises recipients to cash their checks within 90 days.
Recipients who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 888-906-0593 or visit the FTC official website for more information.
The Epoch Times contacted the legal representatives of Zurixx LLC and the celebrities with whom it partnered for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
