“Defendants have routinely claimed that consumers who purchase OTA training programs can quickly attain proficiency in OTA’s strategy and deploy it to earn substantial income, regardless of their background and prior experience… OTA’s strategy does not work as advertised…,” according to the FTC in the lawsuit.
The FTC also noted that many unsatisfied consumers requested refunds of the monies they paid for training. In most cases, OTA honored a refund request when a consumer agreed that he/she will not post any negative reviews about the company, employees, and services and will not report its potential violations to law enforcement agencies.
OTA engaged in an investing training scheme that violated the FTC Act and the Consumer Review Fairness Act, according to the Commission.
In a statement, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Andrew Smith said, “It is illegal to make earnings claims in marketing investment opportunities or training unless the seller has a reasonable basis to make such claims. OTA has used unfounded earnings claims to bilk Americans out of their savings.”
