People who purchased the programs, advertised through infomercials, unknowingly were signed up for additional monthly charges of $39.95 and offered "personal coaching services" that cost several thousand dollars.
Messages left at the companies' offices were not returned Wednesday.
In another case, Beverly Steward, a single, unemployed mother of two from the Washington, D.C., area, answered a newspaper advertisement in January for a cleaning position. She was referred to another company, Job Safety USA, and paid $98 for a certification allowing her to handle hazardous materials.
The documents never came, and Steward soon realized she had been taken, she said.
"The website looked great. Anybody would have fallen for it," said Steward, who pursued complaints with several government agencies. "I don't want anybody else . . . to be taken for even 5 cents."
The FTC sought a court injunction last week against Job Safety USA, its owner, Walter Ramos Borges, and five other Maryland-based companies linked to him for unfair and deceptive practices as well as restitution for customers. Borges and the companies could not be located for comment.
The California Department of Corporations, which oversees investment advisors and other financial services businesses, has filed 13 cease-and-desist orders related to Operation Short Change, mostly against people operating payday loan businesses without licenses. North Carolina has brought the most cases, 19.
"For a con artist, a bad economy is like a gold rush," North Carolina Atty. Gen. Roy Cooper said at Wednesday's news conference. Consumer complaints in his state have surged 27% this year, he said.
Complaints to the FTC about business opportunities, such as work-at-home offers, nearly doubled in 2008 over the previous year to 20,286 and are continuing to rise in 2009. In the first six months of this year, the credit counseling and debt management category accounted for 3,600 complaints filed with the FTC, nearly triple the 1,300 complaints filed in the first half of 2008.
California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown's office has seen the monthly average number of consumer complaints jump from 1,900 in 2008 to 3,000 so far this year, said spokeswoman Christine Gasparac. In June, the office set a record with 3,622 complaints.
Cooper said consumers should not pay money upfront for any such services. But he said that con artists have found fruitful territory in the recession.
"Families in desperate need of cash often let their guard down, a gold mine for scammers," he said.
The FTC advises consumers to visit its Money Matters website, which offers tips and videos about avoiding scams fueled by the economic downturn.
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jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com
