Colorado Attorney General John Suthers’ office filed a lawsuit last week against Westminster, Colo.-based Real Talk Network, alleging the company engaged in false and deceptive trade practices and violated the state's consumer credit laws.
The firm's corporate officers, David Allen Burke and Erik Sale, also were named in the suit. The complaint seeks to bar the defendants from engaging in deceptive trade practices, and also seeks actual and punitive damages.
“The defendants are suspected of using deceptive sales pitches to bilk consumers out of thousands of dollars for services they ultimately never received," Suthers said in a statement. "At its core, this scam preyed on consumers’ desires for a silver bullet to get out of debt."
Real Talk Network ran infomercials on talk radio stations in Colorado and California, telling consumers that they can get out of debt in a short period of time, pay off their mortgages in less than 10 years and "explode" their credit scores by following the company’s program.
The company charged people between $1,497 and $3,497 for its services — which turned out to be practically nonexistent, according to the complaint.
Customers who tried to quit the program or refused to pay were handed off to a collection agency.
