The operator of a defunct money-making scam has agreed to settle a federal court judgment the Federal Trade Commission obtained against him in 2007 for falsely claiming his “wealth building” program would teach consumers how to make substantial income in a short time by buying and selling privately held mortgages.
Under the settlement, John Stefanchik will pay the FTC $900,000 plus the proceeds from the sale of his house and substantially all of his personal property.
As part of the settlement, the FTC will suspend a $17.8 million judgment against Stefanchik imposed by a federal court in 2007 and upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009.
The judgment resulted from a lawsuit the agency filed against him and his company, Beringer Corporation, in 2004. Seeking to collect the judgment, the FTC filed a complaint in bankruptcy court in December 2009, charging Stefanchik, his wife, Heidi Fogg, and her company, Warwick Properties LLC, with trying to shelter assets from the judgment.
Under the settlement, the judgment will be suspended when Stefanchik pays the FTC $900,000 and the funds from the sale of personal property and proceeds from the sale of his house in bankruptcy.
The original $17.8 million judgment will be imposed immediately if he is found to have misrepresented his or his wife’s financial condition. The judgment’s ban on false and misleading con
