- Utah AG Sean Reyes has secured a $42.5 million judgment against Real Estate Workshop and associated individuals and entities (collectively, “REW”) for their involvement in an alleged real estate investment fraud scheme that violated Utah’s Consumer Sales Practices Act (CSPA), Business Opportunity Disclosure Act (BODA), and Telephone Fraud Prevention Act (TFPA).
- According to the Utah District Court’s order, REW used unsubstantiated earnings claims to lure consumers into attending training seminars, promising high passive income through real estate investing, but instead pressured attendees into purchasing expensive training packages. Many attendees incurred debt or filed for bankruptcy after using credit cards, loans, or retirement funds to pay for these packages, which never delivered the promised training. Additionally, the court found that REW violated the TFPA by making misrepresentations during telephone solicitations and failing to register, and also violated BODA by not making required consumer disclosures.
- The court ordered REW to pay $42.5 million in equitable monetary damages, fines, and civil penalties, and imposed injunctive relief prohibiting REW from engaging in any business that markets or sells materials, services, programs, or aids of any kind, from using or benefiting from customer information, and mandated compliance monitoring and reporting, among other relief.