The fifth article in our Cash Gifting Basics series offers advice to those who have lost money to cash gifting programs.
If you’ve lost money to a cash gifting scam (between 85 and 90% of all cash gifting participants do), you may not be without legal remedy.
All fifty US States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, have consumer protection agencies who field complaints against the operators of cash gifting programs.
Both New Mexico and Wisconsin, for example, have restitution programs in place offering amnesty to people facing criminal charges for their participation in certain cash gifting pyramids. The money they returned was distributed among those who had lost all their “gifts.”
The FTC has pursued dozens of pyramid schemes, getting a $20,000,000 settlement from the founders of Skybiz.com, and settling with the operators of the cash gifting program Universal Direct. Those organizations agreed to return all the money they had received from their “gifters.”
A state or government agency like the FTC or SEC will invariably seek restitution for the people who have lost money when suing cash gifting organizations, but there is almost never enough recovered to pay everyone back in full. A court-appointed receiver will be assigned the job of collecting money and selling off the assets of the guilty party, and after deducting costs, will distribute the remainder to those who have proven they lost money in the scheme.
Your best bet at recovering money you’ve lost to a cash gifting program is to complain to your state authorities, the FTC, and the SEC. If they receive enough complaints, they will file suit on behalf of the cash gifting victims. Even if you signed a “gifting statement” in which you agreed not to seek legal remedies against the program, you can still file a complaint.
To file a complaint, start with the Federal Trade Commission and Security Exchange Commission online complaint services at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov and http://www.sec.gov/complaint/selectconduct.
That will begin the process in Federal Court, but don’t stop there. We’ve gathered the contact information for all the consumer protection agencies in every US State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Many of them will let you file an online complaint, but you should always keep good records of your complaint, no matter how it is filed.
| Alabama | Consumer Affairs Section Office of the Attorney General 11 South Union St. Montgomery, AL 36130 334-242-7335 Toll free: 1-800-392-5658 (AL) http://www.ago.state.al.us |
| Alaska | Consumer Protection Unit Office of the Attorney General 1031 West 4th Ave., Suite 200 Anchorage, AK 99501-5903 907-269-5100 Toll free: 1-888-576-2529 Fax: 907-276-8554 http://www.law.state.ak.us |
| Arizona | Consumer Protection and Advocacy Section Office of the Attorney General 1275 West Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85007 602-542-5025 602-542-5763 (Consumer Information and Complaints) Toll free: 1-800-352-8431 (AZ) http://www.azag.gov |
| Arkansas | Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General 323 Center St., Suite 200 Little Rock, AR 72201 501-682-2007 501-682-2341 (Consumer Hotline) Toll free: 1-800-482-8982 (Do Not Call Program) Toll free: 1-800-448-3014 (Crime Victims Hotline) Toll free: 1-877-866-8225 (In-State Do Not Call Program) TTY: 501-682-6073 Fax: 501-682-8118 E-mail: consumer@ag.state.ar.us http://www.arkansasag.gov |
| California | California Department of Consumer Affairs 1625 North Market Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95834 916-445-1254 916-445-4465 916-445-2643 (Correspondence and Complaint Review Unit) Toll free: 1-800-952-5210 (CA) TTY: 916-322-1700; Toll Free: 1-800-326-2297 E-mail: dca@dca.ca.gov http://www.dca.ca.gov |
| Colorado | Consumer Protection Division Colorado Attorney General’s Office 1525 Sherman St., 5th Floor Denver, CO 80203-1760 303-866-5079 Toll free: 1-800-222-4444 Fax: 303-866-5443 |
| Connecticut | Department of Consumer Protection 165 Capitol Ave. Hartford, CT 06106 860-713-6050 Fax: 860-713-7243 http://www.ct.gov/dcp |
| Delaware | Fraud and Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General Carvel State Office Building 820 North French St. Wilmington, DE 19801 302-577-8600 Toll free: 1-800-220-5424 TTY: 302-577-6499 Fax: 302-577-2496 E-mail: Attorney.General@State.DE.US http://www.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov |
| District of Columbia (Washington, DC) |
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Government of the District of Columbia 941 North Capitol St., NE Washington, DC 20002 202-442-4400 202-727-1000 (Citywide Call Center) Fax: 202-442-9445 E-mail: dcra@dc.gov http://dcra.dc.gov |
| Florida |
Economic Crimes Division Office of the Attorney General PL-01 The Capitol Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050 850-414-3600 Toll free: 1-866-966-7226 (FL) TTY: 1-800-955-8771 (Toll free) Fax: 850-488-4483 http://www.myfloridalegal.com |
| Georgia |
Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., Ste. 356 Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-3790 Toll free: 1-800-869-1123 (GA and Outside Atlanta) Fax: 404-651-9018 http://consumer.georgia.gov |
| Hawaii |
Office of Consumer Protection Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs 345 Kekuanaoa St., Room 12 Hilo, HI 96720 808-933-0910 Fax: 808-933-8845 http://www.hawaii.gov/dcca |
| Idaho |
Consumer Protection Unit Idaho Attorney General’s Office 650 West State St. Boise, ID 83720-0010 208-334-2424 Toll free: 1-800-432-3545 (ID) Fax: 208-334-2830 http://www.ag.idaho.gov |
| Illinois |
Consumer Fraud Bureau 1001 East Main St. Carbondale, IL 62901 618-529-6400 Toll free: 1-800-243-0607 TTY: 618-529-0607 or Toll free 1-877-675-9339 (IL) Fax: 618-529-6416 E-mail: ag_consumer@atg.state.il.us http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov |
| Indiana |
Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General Indiana Government Center South 302 West Washington St. Indianapolis, IN 46204 317-232-6201 Toll free: 1-800-382-5516 (Consumer Hotline) Fax: 317-232-7979 http://www.indianaconsumer.com |
| Iowa |
Consumer Protection Division Office of the Iowa Attorney General 1305 East Walnut St., 2nd Floor Hoover Building Des Moines, IA 50319 515-281-5926 Toll free: 1-888-777-4590 (IA) Fax: 515-281-6771 E-mail: consumer@ag.state.ia.us http://www.iowaattorneygeneral.org |
| Kansas |
Consumer Protection & Antitrust Division Office of the Attorney General 120 SW 10th, 2nd Floor Topeka, KS 66612-1597 785-296-3751 Toll free: 1-800-432-2310 (KS) TTY: 785-291-3767 Fax: 785-291-3699 E-mail: cprotect@ksag.org http://www.ksag.org |
| Kentucky |
Office of Consumer Protection Office of the Attorney General 1024 Capital Center Dr., Suite 200 Frankfort, KY 40601 502-696-5389 Toll free: 1-888-432-9257 (KY) Fax: 502-573-8317 E-mail: attorney.general@ag.ky.gov http://ag.ky.gov |
| Louisiana | Consumer Protection Section Office of the Attorney General PO Box 94005 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9005 Toll free: 1-800-351-4889 Fax: 225-326-6499 http://ag.state.la.us |
| Maine |
Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection 35 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0035 207-624-8527 Toll free: 1-800-332-8529 (ME) TTY: 1-888-577-6690 (Toll free) Fax: 207-582-7699 http://credit.maine.gov |
| Maryland | Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General 200 Saint Paul Place, 16th Floor Baltimore, MD 21202-2021 410-528-8662 (Consumer Complaints) 410-576-6550 (Consumer Information) 410-528-1840 (Health Advocacy unit) Toll free: 1-888-743-0023 TTY: 410-576-6372 (MD) Fax: 410-576-7040 E-mail: consumer@oag.state.md.us http://oag.state.md.us/consumer |
| Massachusetts |
Executive Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation 10 Park Plaza, Suite 5170 Boston, MA 02116 617-973-8700 (General Information) 617-973-8787 (Consumer Hotline) Toll free: 1-888-283-3757 (MA) TTY: 617-973-8790 Fax: 617-973-8798 E-mail: consumer@state.ma.us http://www.mass.gov/consumer |
| Michigan | Consumer Protection Division Office of Attorney General PO Box 30213 Lansing, MI 48909 517-373-1140 Toll free: 1-877-765-8388 Fax: 517-241-3771 / 517-373-3042 |
| Minnesota | Consumer Services Division Attorney General’s Office 1400 Bremer Tower 445 Minnesota St. St. Paul, MN 55101 651-296-3353 Toll free: 1-800-657-3787 TTY: 651-297-7206 or 1-800-366-4812 (Toll free) Fax: 651-282-2155 E-mail: attorney.general@state.mn.us http://ag.state.mn.us |
| Mississippi | Consumer Protection Division Attorney General’s Office PO Box 22947 Jackson, MS 39225-2947 601-359-4230 Toll free: 1-800-281-4418 (MS) Fax: 601-359-4231 http://ago.state.ms.us |
| Missouri | Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division PO Box 899 Jefferson City, MO 65102 573-751-3321 Toll free: 1-800-392-8222 (MO) TTY: 1-800-729-8668 (MO) Fax: 573-751-7984 E-mail: consumer@ago.mo.gov http://ago.mo.gov |
| Montana |
Montana Office of Consumer Protection Department of Justice 1219 8th Ave. PO Box 200151 Helena, MT 59620-0151 406-444-4500 Toll free: 1-800-481-6896 Fax: 406-444-9680 http://doj.mt.gov/consumer |
| Nebraska |
Nebraska Office of the Attorney General Department of Justice 2115 State Capitol PO Box 98920 Lincoln, NE 68509 402-471-2682 402-471-3891 (Spanish) Toll free: 1-800-727-6432 (NE) |
| Nevada | Bureau of Consumer Protection Office of the Attorney General 1000 N Carson Street Carson City, NV 89701 775-684-1180 http://ag.state.nv.us |
| New Hampshire | Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau Attorney General’s Office 33 Capitol St. Concord, NH 03301 603-271-3641 Toll free: 1-888-468-4454 TTY: 1-800-735-2964 (New Hampshire Only) Fax: 603-223-6202 http://doj.nh.gov/consumer/ |
| New Jersey |
Division of Consumer Affairs Department of Law and Public Safety PO Box 45027 Newark, NJ 07101 973-504-6200 Toll free: 1-800-242-5846 (NJ) TTY: 973-504-6588 Fax: 973-648-3538 E-mail: askconsumeraffairs@lps.state.nj.us http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov |
| New Mexico |
Consumer Protection Division PO Drawer 1508 407 Galisteo Santa Fe, NM 87504-1508 505-827-6060 Toll free: 1-800-678-1508 Fax: 505-827-6685 http://www.nmag.gov |
| New York |
Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection Office of the Attorney General State Capitol Albany, NY 12224 518-474-5481 Toll free: 1-800-771-7755 (NY) TTY: 1-800-788-9898 (Toll free) Fax: 518-474-3618 http://oag.state.ny.us |
| North Carolina |
Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General 9001 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-9001 919-716-6000 Toll free: 1-877-566-7226 (NC) Fax: 919-716-6050 http://www.ncdoj.gov |
| North Dakota | Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division Office of the Attorney General 600 E Boulevard Ave. Dept 125 Bismarck, ND 58505 701-328-3404 Toll free: 1-800-472-2600 TTY: 1-800-366-6888 (Toll free) E-mail: cpat@state.nd.us http://ag.nd.gov |
| Ohio | Consumer Protection Section Attorney General’s Office 30 East Broad St., 17th Floor Columbus, OH 43215-3428 614-466-4320 Fax: 614-728-7583 E-mail: consumer@ag.state.oh.us http://ag.state.oh.us |
| Oklahoma | Consumer Protection Unit Oklahoma Attorney General 313 NE 21st Street Oklahoma City, OK 73105 405-521-2029 Fax: 405-528-1867 http://oag.ok.gov |
| Oregon | Financial Fraud/Consumer Protection Section Department of Justice 1162 Court St., NE Salem, OR 97310 503-947-4333 503-378-4320 (Hotline Salem only) 503-229-5576 (Hotline Portland Only) Toll free: 1-877-877-9392 (OR) TTY: 503-378-5938 Fax: 503-378-5017 http://doj.state.or.us |
| Pennsylvania | Bureau of Consumer Protection Office of Attorney General 16th Floor, Strawberry Square Harrisburg, PA 17120 717-787-3391 Toll free: 1-800-441-2555 Toll free: 1-877-888-4877 (Health Care) Fax: 717-787-8242 http://www.attorneygeneral.gov |
| Puerto Rico |
Department de Asuntos Del Consumidor Centro Gubernamental Roberto Sanchez Vilella Edificio Norte Apartado 41059, Estacion Minillas San Juan, PR 00940-1059 787-722-7555 Fax: 787-726-0077 http://daco.gobierno.pr |
| Rhode Island |
Consumer Protection Unit Department of Attorney General 150 South Main St. Providence, RI 02903 401-274-4400 TTY: 401-453-0410 Fax: 401-222-5110 http://riag.state.ri.us |
| South Carolina |
Department of Consumer Affairs 3600 Forest Drive, Suite 300 PO Box 5757 Columbia, SC 29250-5757 803-734-4200 Toll free: 1-800-922-1594 (SC) TTY: 1-800-735-2905 (Toll free) Fax: 803-734-4286 E-mail: scdca@dca.state.sc.us |
| South Dakota |
Consumer Affairs Office of the Attorney General 1302 E. Hwy 14, Suite 3 Pierre, SD 57501-8503 605-773-4400 Toll free: 1-800-300-1986 (SD) TTY: 605-773-6585 Fax: 605-773-7163 E-mail: consumerhelp@state.sd.us http://state.sd.us/atg |
| Tennessee | Division of Consumer Affairs 500 James Robertson Pkwy., 5th Floor Nashville, TN 37243-0600 |
| Texas | Austin Regional Office PO Box 12548 Austin, TX 78711-2548 512-463-2100 Toll free: 1-800-621-0508 Fax: 512-473-8301 E-mail: cac@oag.state.tx.us http://oag.state.tx.us |
| Utah | Division of Consumer Protection Department of Commerce 160 East 300 South PO Box 146704 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6704 801-530-6601 Fax: 801-530-6001 E-mail: consumerprotection@utah.gov http://consumerprotection.utah.gov |
| Vermont | Consumer Assistance Program Office of the Attorney General 104 Morrill Hall, UVM Burlington, VT 05405 802-656-3183 Toll free: 1-800-649-2424 (VT) Fax: 802-656-1423 E-mail: consumer@uvm.edu http://atg.state.vt.us |
| Virgin Islands |
Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs Golden Rock Shopping Center Christiansted St. Croix, VI 00820 340-773-2226 Fax: 340-778-8250 http://dlca.gov.vi |
| Virginia |
Antitrust and Consumer Litigation Section Office of the Attorney General 900 East Main St. Richmond, VA 23219 804-786-2116 Toll free: 1-800-451-1525 Fax: 804-786-0122 E-mail: mail@oag.state.va.us http://oag.state.va.us |
| Washington |
Office of the Attorney General (see Regional Consumer Resource Centers) 1125 Washington St. SE Olympia, WA 98504-0100 Toll free: 1-800-551-4636 http://atg.wa.gov |
| West Virginia |
Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General 812 Quarrier St., 6th Floor PO Box 1789 Charleston, WV 25326-1789 304-558-8986 Toll free: 1-800-368-8808 (WV) Fax: 304-558-0184 E-mail: consumer@wvago.gov http://www.wvago.gov |
| Wisconsin |
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection 2811 Agriculture Dr. PO Box 8911 Madison, WI 53708-8911 608-224-4949 Toll free: 1-800-422-7128 (WI) TTY: 608-224-5058 Fax: 608-224-4939 E-mail: hotline@datcp.state.wi.us http://datcp.state.wi.us |
| Wyoming |
Consumer Protection Unit Office of the Attorney General 123 Capitol 200 W. 24th Street Cheyenne, WY 82002 307-777-7841 Toll free: 1-800-438-5799 Fax: 307-777-6869 E-mail: agwebmaster@state.wy.us http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us |
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Wed, Aug 6, 2008
Cash Gifting Basics