The Federal Trade Commission will pay $12 million in refunds to people who were deceived by a Utah company with ties to several HGTV stars.
Zurixx LLC, which lured students into attending overpriced home-flip seminars, agreed to a settlement in February 2022 after being accused of making false revenue claims to lure aspiring real estate entrepreneurs.
Some participants paid tens of thousands of dollars to attend Zurixx seminars.
According to the FTC, Zulix owners Christopher Cannon, James Carlson and Jeffrey Spangler partnered with home improvement television personalities, including Tarek El Moussa and Christina El Moussa, Hilary Farr, Peter Souleris and Dave Seymour of A&E's Flipping Boston.
In some cases, celebrities will not attend class but will send pre-recorded video messages.
The FTC called it a “coaching scheme,” and many participants complained that most of the classes were focused on getting participants to spend more money for additional lessons and gain access to well-capitalized investors.
The company told attendees that potential real estate investments would be 100% funded, and exaggerated the potential profits.
One participant told The Associated Press that on the final day of the course, instructors pressured participants to pay the $26,000 training fee.
The FTC said in a news release Wednesday that 25,563 customers will receive the payments. The agency is advising recipients to cash the checks within 90 days.
“Many victims will finally get justice. Thousands of people who were misled into making fraudulent investments by the owners of Zulix will receive this significant settlement,” Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement. “Permanently removing these actors from the coaching industry is a major win for the state of Utah. We hope this serves as a warning to others considering setting up similar programs based on false revenue claims.”