Valley citizens to be repaid after telemarketing scam

PHOENIX — A settlement has been reached to reimburse dozens of Valley citizens that were defrauded by a fake telemarketing company.

Last year, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office began receiving complaints about a company that would call people at home offering them an opportunity to run “online shopping malls” affiliated with Amazon.com. The fraudulent company preyed mainly upon senior citizens on fixed incomes.

Customers paid thousands of dollars to be part of the business venture but would see nothing in return.

“They would call consumers and sell them online shopping mall websites and then they would also offer advertising to promote the website,” Attorney General Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said.

After the complaints, the Attorney General’s Office began to investigate the two owners of Superior Marketing Group and found they were in fact swindling consumers.

The office reached a settlement with the company and seized approximately $400,000, which will be repaid to the victims that filed complaints.

Grisham also warned others to be skeptical when looking to invest in certain companies.

“If it sounds to good to be true it generally is, if you get a call from anybody offering up any kind of a business opportunity, before even filing a complaint with us, you can always check with the Better Business Bureau to see if these people are legitimate and have a good rating.”