FTC sends $12M+ to consumers harmed by real estate investment coaching scheme

The Federal Trade Commission has reported it is sending more than $12 million in refunds to consumers who paid Zurixx, LLC for a real estate investment training program that allegedly made empty promises about earning big profits by “flipping” houses.

A complaint filed by the FTC and the Utah Department of Commerce Division of Consumer Protection (UDCP) alleged that Zurixx and its owners operated a real estate investment coaching scheme that sold live seminars and telephone coaching using false earnings claims that convinced consumers to pay them thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in a relatively short amount of time by “flipping” or wholesaling real estate using Zurixx’s system. The defendants bolstered sales by partnering with home-improvement and flipping television personalities. The defendants agreed to a settlement in February 2022, that included a monetary judgment and permanently banned them from marketing or selling any real estate or business coaching programs and prohibited them from making misleading earnings claims and from using contract terms to restrict consumers’ ability to review their products or speak to law enforcement agencies.

The FTC is sending checks to 25,563 consumers.