Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced that his office and the Federal Trade Commission have obtained a court order barring Russell T. Dalbey, founder and CEO of the Westminister-based Dalbey Education Institute (formerly known as American’s Note Network), from airing misleading infomercials.
The order stems from a lawsuit the Office of the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission filed in May alleging that the infomercials, called “Winning in the Cash Flow Business,” misled consumers to believe they could get rich quick by dealing seller-financed promissory notes or cash flow notes. The order, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, requires that Dalbey and any company or person working with him, including Dalbey Education Institue, cease the broadcast of any infomercials claiming that consumers can get rich quick though the sale of promissory notes.
According to a survey the Federal Trade Commission conducted as part of its investigation, only 0.8 percent of consumers who purchased less than $500 of the Dalbey Education Institute’s products ever sold a promissory note. The survey found that only 2.8 percent of consumers who paid $500 or more for Dalbey Education Institute products ever sold a promissory note.
The company is no longer operating and has filed bankruptcy. The two-week trial has been set for May 29, 2013 in Denver, U.S. District Court where our office will be pursuing Mr. Dalbey and his wife, individually. The Office of the Attorney General investigated the defendant companies and their principals in cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission.
To learn more about recent actions the Office of the Attorney General has filed against companies engaged in deceptive trade practices, visit www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/consumercases. Consumers who believe they have fallen victim to a scam can file a complaint via www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/complaint.