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to Refund Consumers for Alleged Vacation Travel Package Fraud |
September 5, 2001 - The Federal Trade Commission
announced a settlement today ordering refunds to many consumers who bought
travel packages from Epic Resorts, LLC, and its wholly owned subsidiary
Epic Travel, LLC. Under the order, the companies are required to refund
the money of customers who requested, but did not receive, their refunds
within a 30-day cancellation period.
The Commission filed its complaint in U.S. District Court in Florida
against Epic Resorts and Epic Travel as part of the August 2000 Operation
Travel Unravel law enforcement sweep of companies allegedly engaged
in travel fraud and violations of the FTC Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule
(TSR). The stipulated final order reached by the Commission and announced
today also enjoins the defendants from failing to make required travel-related
disclosures in the future and prohibits them from violating the "Do Not
Call" provision of the TSR, as well as the Truth in Lending Act (TILA).
The settlement also provides for the dismissal of charges against Scott
Egelkamp, the chief financial officer of both companies.
Under the terms of the proposed order, which will become effective when signed by the district court judge, Epic Resorts, Epic Travel, and Flatley are required to provide redress to consumers who returned their vacation packages within the defendants' 30-day cancellation period and sought, but did not receive, refunds from the company. The defendants also are enjoined from the illegal activities alleged in the complaint, including:
The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the consent in settlement of the court action was 5-0. The stipulated final judgment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, on September 5, 2001. NOTE: Stipulated final judgments are for settlement purposes only and do not constitute an admission by the defendants of a law violation. Consent judgments have the force of law when signed by the judge. Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
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Mitchell J. Katz
Office of Public Affairs 202-326-2161 http://www.ftc.gov |
Also See | Epic Resorts LLC forced Into Chapter 7; Informs Up to 3,000 Employees That Payday Is Not Forthcoming / Aug 2001 |