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Innovative Wealth Builders For Credit Card Reduction Scam

Michael Agruss

Written and Reviewed by Michael Agruss

  • Managing Partner and Personal Injury Lawyer at Mike Agruss Law.
  • Over 20 years of experience in Personal Injury.
  • Over 8000+ consumer rights cases settled.
  • Graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law: Juris Doctor, 2004.

Innovative Wealth Builders For Credit Card Reduction Scam

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida has temporarily shut down Innovative Wealth Builders, Inc. (IWB), at the Federal Trade Commission’s request. IWB allegedly operated a credit card interest rate reduction scam; the results of the FTC’s case against the company (and its three owners) will determine its fate.Starting in 2009, or possibly earlier, Tampa-based IWB cold-called consumers with credit card debt, offering them a deceptive credit card interest rate reduction program, which claimed to substantially reduce the consumer’s interest rate, save them thousands of dollars, and help them pay off their debts much faster. People with heavy credit card debt are usually pretty stressed out financially; they could least afford these scams. Charging anywhere from $500 to $2,000, IWB promised all fees would be returned if it didn’t live up to these promises.But the FTC discovered that IWB didn’t obtain any actual reductions in consumers’ interest rates; the company didn’t save anyone thousands of dollars or pay off any debts faster. Apparently, all IWB did was send people a so-called “financial plan,” which was just a comparison of basic facts of the debt—how much a consumer would pay altogether if they paid the minimum monthly amounts vs. a greater amount each month. IWB refused to refund people’s money as promised, and then further cheated them by running up unauthorized charges to their credit card accounts.The FTC’s contends IWB violated the FTC Act when they misrepresented their services, along with the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule; complaints were filed against Carly Janene Pelland, also known as Carly Zurita; Tamara Dawn Johnson; and Sheryl Leigh Lopez. The Florida Attorney General’s Office provided investigative assistance and support to the FTC in this case (which will soon be decided in court).If a collection agency has harassed you, you may be entitled to money damages up to $1,000.00, based on the FDCPA, which has been around for almost 35 years. The FDCPA is a federal law that applies to every state. In other words, everyone is protected by the FDCPA. The FDCPA is essentially a laundry list of what debt collectors can and cannot do while collecting a debt, as well as things debt collectors must do while collecting a debt. Plus, the FDCPA has a fee-shift provision. This means, the collection agency pays your attorney’s fees and costs. Founding attorney, Michael Agruss, has settled over 1,500 debt collection harassment cases. We want to help you, too. 

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