The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has upheld a district court judgment in favor of the Federal Trade Commission and four state attorneys general against a woman who assisted and facilitated a scheme that deceived consumers by falsely promising them a guaranteed $25,000 grant from the federal government.
In September 2011, after a two-day trial, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ruled in favor of the FTC and the states of Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and North Carolina, and ordered Meggie Chapman to pay $1.68 million in consumer redress for assisting and facilitating the government-grant scheme.
The final court order against Chapman bans her from marketing money-making opportunities to individuals in the future. It also prohibits her from misrepresenting information about any products or services being offered for sale, failing to disclose information that is material to a consumers decision to make a purchase, and making any false or misleading statement in an attempt to induce anyone into buying a product or service.
In May 2012, the Appeals Court affirmed the district courts final judgment, which found that Chapman, had violated the FTCs Telemarketing Sales Rule.
The Appeals Court found that Chapman played an integral part assisting and facilitating the grant-related telemarketing scheme. The ourt also denied Chapmans post-judgment motion to amend or alter the monetary judgment against her.
