A reputation management company is under fire for allegedly scheming to defraud consumers nationwide as well as local Texas attorneys, judges and search engine giant Google.
According to the Texas Attorney General’s office, Chris Dinota is the president and CEO of Solvera Group, Inc., with a principal place of business listed as Walnut Creek, California.
Along with doing business under the name Solvera Group, the attorney general’s office alleges the company also went by the names Instant Complaint Removers, Instantcomplaintremovers.com and Defamationremoval.com.
In a recent civil filing, Texas prosecutors allege Solvera perpetuated a scheme in the guise of “reputation management” by filing lawsuits that they knew to contain false information – including fictitious plaintiffs and defendants.
In a Sept. 14 news report, Forbes reported, “For years, a Chris Dinota told businesses and individuals across the nation that for $50,000 to $300,000 he would help them block out negative online reviews.” The article noted that Dinota’s online reputation management company said it would “de-index” websites carrying negative reviews, using lawsuits and other means to remove them from search engines like Google.