Promoters Banned For Life From Telemarketing

Bogus Medical Billing Scheme
To Pay $500,000

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2001 -- Data Medical Capital, Inc., and its principal, Bryan D'Antonio, will be permanently banned from selling business ventures, employment opportunities or work-at-home opportunities, and from telemarketing as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. They will also be required to pay more than $559,000 in consumer redress.

The Commission had alleged that the defendants were engaged in a scheme to sell bogus work-at-home medical billing opportunities.

"The ability to make a decent living working from home would be a dream come true for many young parents and people who have difficulty leaving the house, such as some people with disabilities and seniors," said Howard Beales, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

"Unfortunately, the dream in this case did not come true. The fact is that few consumers who purchase a medical billing business opportunity are able to find clients, start a business and generate revenues. Consumers should be very skeptical of pitches for work-at-home opportunities that sound too good to be true."

In October 1999, the FTC filed a complaint in federal district court against Data Medical Capital, Inc., also doing business as Datamed and MedCo, and Bryan D'Antonio, alleging that they misrepresented their medical billing work-at-home opportunities by bolstering false earnings claims and misrepresented the assistance that consumers would receive in getting medical billing work.

According to the FTC, the defendants promised consumers that they could earn a minimum of $23,400 per year by using their home computers to process medical bills for physicians with whom the defendants had established relationships. The court issued a temporary restraining order with asset freeze against the defendants.

In addition to the ban from engaging in the sale of business ventures, employment opportunities, or work-at-home opportunities and telemarketing, the proposed settlement would also require the defendants to stop any collection attempts and to return any uncashed checks to consumers. The defendants would also be prohibited from selling their customer lists.

Back to the top | Consumer News 2001