The Federal Trade Commission has settled with defendants American Handicapped Inc., American Handicapped and Disadvantaged Workers Inc., and their owner charges that the defendants tricked consumers into buying household products on the false pretext that the proceeds would go to help disabled people.
According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants’ telemarketers cold-called consumers to sell them light bulbs, trash bags, and cleaning products and to seek charitable donations in return for a free gift. The telemarketers claimed that they represented a charitable organization that employed disabled persons or that the callers themselves were disabled.
In addition, the defendants allegedly shipped merchandise without consumers’ consent and then falsely told consumers that they owed money for the unordered merchandise. The defendants charged inflated prices for the merchandise, such as $30 for two light bulbs and $100 for 60 trash bags, according to the complaint. Dasuqi received consumer complaints from the Arizona Better Business Bureau and law enforcers in Iowa, Minnesota and other states but failed to stop the scheme, the FTC alleged.
The FTC's full press release, with a link to the settlement entered as an order by the court, is here.
