FOR RELEASE: JUNE 25, 1997
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CALIFORNIA-BASED TELEMARKETER AGREES TO SETTLE FTC CHARGES;
Owner Permanently Banned From Future Telemarketing Activities
Michael Garganese, former owner of a Beverly Hills, California-based company, Ideal Concepts, Inc., has agreed to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission in December 1995 as part of Project Senior Sentinel -- a nationwide, multi-agency telemarketing sweep against telemarketers who preyed on senior citizens. According to the FTC’s complaint in this case, Ideal Concepts’ telemarketers promised consumers valuable prizes or awards that allegedly were never delivered or, if delivered, were worth a fraction of their claimed value. As part of the proposed settlement of these charges, defendant Michael Garganese would be prohibited from engaging or assisting others to engage in any telemarketing activity, including the telemarketing sale of any good or service or charitable solicitation. In addition, Garganese has agreed to pay $15,000 in consumer redress.
Project Senior Sentinel, coordinated by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was aimed primarily at bringing criminal charges against telemarketers who defraud the elderly, and culminated in hundreds of arrests and indictments across the country. The FTC brought five cases against fraudulent telemarketers in Project Senior Sentinel. Telemarketers for Ideal Concepts made unsolicited telephone calls to consumers nationwide, many of whom were senior citizens. In these calls, the defendants offered consumers valuable awards as an inducement to purchase mugs, frisbees, baseball caps, and space pens, often with anti-drug slogans printed on the items. The prices of the items ranged from $400 to over $1,000.
In many instances, according to the FTC, the defendants misrepresented to consumers that the value of the prize or award they were to receive was worth significantly more than what they were paying for the products. In fact, according to the FTC, the prizes, if received, had little or no value at all.
The proposed settlement would permanently ban defendant Michael Garganese from any future telemarketing activities, including the telemarketing sales of any goods or services, or the telemarketing of charitable solicitations. In addition, the proposed settlement would require Garganese to pay consumer redress in the amount of $15,000. Finally, the settlement contains a number of recordkeeping requirements designed to assist the FTC with monitoring the defendants’ compliance.
The Commission vote to file the Stipulated Final Judgment and Order for Permanent Injunction was 5-0. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles on June 24, and is subject to approval by the court. This matter was handled by the FTC’s Regional Office in Denver, Colorado.
NOTE: A stipulated final judgment and order for permanent injunction is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation. The judgment has the force of law when signed by the judge.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2000-57
SEC Sues Internet Stock Picker For Using Fraudulent Advertising
To Lure Day Traders To His Stock Picking Service
Third Case In Recent Months Against Operators Of Stock
Recommendation Web Sites
Washington, DC, May 1, 2000 - The Securities and Exchange
Commission today brought and settled civil administrative fraud
charges against Robert Garganese, a convicted felon, and his
company Genesis Trading for enticing day traders to subscribe to
his stock picking service through false and misleading
advertising. Garganese, of Las Vegas, NV, ran the web site from
August 1998 until October 1999, when he began serving a one-year
prison term for money laundering and telemarketing fraud charges
unrelated to this action. This case is part of a joint
initiative by the SEC, the Federal Trade Commission, and the
Commodities Futures Trading Commission to crack down on deceptive
day trading promotions.
The SEC alleges that Garganese used his web site to
fraudulently describe Genesis Trading as "a company composed of
professional traders" that has created a system to track
institutional buying and selling. In reality, Garganese, who is
not a professional trader, was the only person to run the web
site. Additionally, the SEC alleges that the Genesis stock picks
were not the product of a proprietary system, but, rather, were
the product of commercially purchased software that does not
specialize in tracking institutional buying and selling.
As to the profit potential of the system, the SEC alleges
that Garganese boasted, without any basis, that all his
subscribers need do is "enter the trade and ride the wave of what
is usually a $2-$10 price move within a few days." The SEC also
alleges that the Genesis Trading web site falsely claimed that
more than 80 percent of Genesis Trading's recommended trades were
profitable.
Genesis Trading and Garganese have agreed to settle this
matter. Each has agreed to cease-and-desist from violating the
federal securities laws and Genesis will provide a copy of the
Commission's Order to all current and prospective subscribers for
a period of one year.
Actions against 13 other on-line firms have been filed today
by the FTC and CFTC similarly focusing on web sites in the
business of selling stock or commodity recommendations and
trading strategies to day traders. The SEC previously has
brought two cases of this nature. See, SEC v. Yun Soo Oh Park,
a/k/a "Tokyo Joe," Lit. Rel. No. 16399 (January 5, 2000) and SEC
v. DynamicDaytrader, Lit. Rel. 16475 (March 20, 2000).
Investors should also read "Day Trading: Your Dollars at
Risk" (
www.sec.gov/consumer/daytips.htm) to learn about the risks
of day trading and how difficult it is to profit from this
strategy. Investors who use the Internet to invest or access
investing information should also read the SEC's online brochure,
"Internet Fraud: How to Avoid Internet Investment Scams"
(
www.sec.gov/consumer/cyberfr.htm). This brochure tells
investors how to spot different types of Internet fraud, what the
SEC is doing to fight Internet investment scams, and how to use
the Internet to invest wisely.
Contacts:
David M. Levine
Senior Adviser to the Director of Enforcement
202.942.4535
Matthew P. Moro
Deputy Chief, Office of Internet Enforcement
202.942.4525
