United States - FTC Sues to Stop Massive Sweepstakes Scam Victimizing Consumers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Japan, and Other Countries

A federal court has temporarily halted a massive sweepstakes scam that has operated for seven years and taken more than $11 million in the past four years from consumers throughout the United States and dozens of other countries throughout the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan.The FTC asked the court to restrain the defendants temporarily while the case, which seeks to enjoin the practices and return money to victims, is pending. The court enjoined the illegal conduct, froze the operation's assets, and appointed a receiver over the corporate defendants while the FTC moves forward with the case.

According to the FTC's complaint, the California-based defendants mass mailed personalized letters to millions of consumers telling them that they had won a large cash prize, typically more than $2 million with bold, large-type statements such as "Over TWO MILLION DOLLARS in sweepstakes has been reserved for you". The letters told consumers that they could collect the prize by sending in a fee of approximately $20 to $30. However, consumers got nothing of value in exchange for their payment. Among the law enforcement partners who cooperated with the FTC were Vancouver Police Department, the London Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police's National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.