Hunton Retail Law Resource

On May 22, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its first monetary settlement with celebrity endorsers for a combined $1.7 million.

The complaint filed by the FTC and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) against Response Marketing Group, LLC and its principals, also named two real estate celebrities as defendants—Scott Yancey, star of the home-flipping show Flipping Vegas on A&E, and Dean R. Graziosi, author of Millionaire Success Habits. The complaint alleged that defendants used false promises to sell consumers expensive real estate investment training programs, which Yancey and Graziosi promoted. Yancey and Graziosi were also allegedly involved in efforts to bury online customer complaints that said Response Marketing was a scam and cost consumers more than $400 million.