FTC Settles Charges in Alleged eCommerce Business Opportunity Scam

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said two operators of an alleged eCommerce business opportunity scam have agreed to settle the charges.

Trevor Duffy Young and Wessam Baiz, along with companies associated with Baiz, will turn over profits they made from the alleged scam, will be banned from any involvement with any business opportunity, and will be prohibited from deceiving consumers about any good or service they sell or market, the FTC said in a Monday (March 24) press release.

The companies associated with Baiz include Lunar Capital Ventures, Ecom Genie, Profitable Automation and Valiant Consultants, according to the release.

The FTC’s case against the remaining defendants is ongoing, the release said.

“Young, Baiz and Baiz’s companies were part of a deceptive operation that took advantage of consumers looking to invest their hard-earned money, only to learn that promises of successful eCommerce stores were a total sham,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the release. “Today’s action holds these defendants accountable by banning them from marketing or selling business opportunities and requiring payments to defrauded customers.”

The FTC said Oct. 28 that its lawsuit alleging an “online business opportunity scam” led a federal court to temporarily shut down the operations of the companies.

The agency alleged that the companies claimed consumers could earn “lavish” profits by paying tens of thousands of dollars to start online eCommerce businesses, but most consumers lost substantial amounts of money.

The complaint alleged that the companies operated the same scheme since 2022, deceived consumers and failed to provide them with disclosures required by the FTC’s Business Opportunity Rule.

The FTC alleged that the business opportunity scam took in more than $12 million from consumers.

The agency said March 14 that its law enforcement actions resulted in $337.3 million in refunds to consumers in 2024, up from $324 million in 2023.

“Getting money back for people across the country is a top priority for the FTC,” Mufarrige said at the time in a press release. “We will relentlessly pursue refunds for Americans who lost money to unlawful practices.”