Special Securities Counsel: M. Richard Cutler, Esq.
610 Newport Center Drive
Suite 800
Newport Beach, CA 92660
startronix.com
"With headquarters in Irvine, California, StarTronix International is a publicly traded Delaware corporation (STNX: OTCBB) with approximately 5,000 shareholders. As this web site reports, StarTronix International is preparing to launch the all-new "Millennium" StarScreen System. Now is a great time to consider an investment..."
Startronix International
Startronix, Inc.
Startronix On-Line, Inc.
Startronix Telcom, Inc.
Norman M, Shink, President
Primary Location: Irvine, CA
Address: 2402 Michelson Drive, Suite #160 Irvine, CA 92715
Phone: 1-800-750-6615 (info hotline), 1-415-273-6130 (fax-on-demand)
Nature of Business: Pyramid scheme.
Media Contact: Michigan Attorney General's Office, Robert Ward, 517-373-7117
Links: searchscan.com
vmall.net
iypn.com
Startronix is a publicly-traded company (OTCBB: STNX) that offers a "screen phone" system. For about $60 a month, users lease what looks like a combination laptop computer and telephone, which comes with internet access. Subscribers have to "rent-to-own" the unit for a period of 4 years minimum, though some distributor's advertising literature makes reference to the screenphone being "FREE" ("Make money giving-away our computers!", some ads state.). The company promises to provide videoconferencing capabilities via the computer's built-in 28.8KBps modem, as well as other standard internet faire, including e-mail, newsgroups, etc. Distributors are promised a signifigant kickback on revenues generated by subscribers to this service.
We are extremely grateful that the FTC has taken action against Startronix! Besides being an extremely questionable "money making opportunity", in our opinion, their distributors have become one of the biggest annoyances that the telecom industry has ever seen. This office has received NUMEROUS get-rich-quick SPAMs from Startronix distributors. They have absolutely deluged the internet with unsolicited e-mail and annoying cross-posts to usenet newsgroups. Distributors have also sent numerous unsolicited junk faxes to our offices, in clear violation of federal laws against unsolicited faxing.
As if that weren't bad enough, numerous distributors of the company have set-up their own Webpages, and made unauthorized use of copyrighted articles published in Discount Long Distance Digest. We would NEVER allow an operation such as Startronix to use The Digest's name to bolster their own credibility by associating with us, but that is exactly what many of their distributors have tried to do. We will soon be sending notices to Webmasters at these sites, demanding that they cease and desist using our name. We regret that we ever had the misfortune to run their press releases in our journal to begin with.
FTC BUSTS TELECOM PYRAMID SCAMS!
thedigest.com
Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 1996 (DLD Digest) -- In a massive crackdown that is the broadest federal-state coordinated effort of its type, the Federal Trade Commission and enforcement officials from 25 states last Friday announced that they have taken more than 75 law enforcement actions actions so far against get-rick-quick self-employment schemes, including work-at-home scams, pyramid schemes often pitched on the Internet, and pre-packaged small businesses involving everything from vending machine frauds to sophisticated medical billing services.
The actions are the result of "Operation Missed Fortune," launched early last summer. This federal/state effort targets scam artists who capitalize on downsizing, the growth of computers in consumers' homes and other trends by promising people "proven" and "lucrative" opportunities to gain financial independence and to "be your own boss." The firms charge up-front fees ranging from $30 to tens of thousands of dollars. Officials said the fraudulent companies make false promises about high earnings, sometimes refer consumers to phony references or "shills" who give glowing, but false, reports about the business, and frequently fail to provide consumers with detailed business disclosure documents required by federal or state law. The FTC staff estimated that consumers lose tens of millions of dollars to get-rich-quick business scams every year. Officials will be filing more actions as part of this project in the coming weeks.
"When a business opportunity knocks, consumers today have to take more than a quick look before opening the door and investing," said Jodie Bernstein, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "It's not easy to examine an offer thoroughly, especially when firms use phony references and offer detailed charts showing likely earnings. But the extra legwork could prevent substantial losses. One victim in an FTC case lost more than $70,000; others have lost as much as $40,000 or more each."
"Several factors are likely contributors to the exploding losses we're seeing today," Bernstein continued. "One is government and corporate downsizing that creates a pool of people searching for a safe place to invest their nest eggs; another is the Internet, a new way for con artists to dress up pyramids and other old schemes in new lingo so they can victimize vast numbers of consumers. New or not, some old advice applies: the promise of substantial earnings with minimal effort or training is a sure warning sign of fraud."
"Get-rich-quick self-employment schemes that promise a sure path to financial independence touch a chord in many of us," said Mark Griffin, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. (NASAA), which represents state securities regulators. "Unfortunately, the crooks behind the fraudulent scams are the only ones who get rich quick. The purpose of Operation Missed Fortune is to try and put a stop to these people whose victims, instead of getting rich quick, go broke quick."
Of all the actions brought under Operation Missed Fortune, 11 are FTC complaints filed in federal district courts around the nation. The FTC alleged in each of these cases that the defendants greatly overstated the earnings consumers were likely to make, and in five of its cases, that the defendants failed to give consumers key pre-purchase information required by the FTC's Franchise Rule. The FTC said this rule is essentially an anti-fraud rule designed to give consumers information about a firm, its financial and legal history, and current and former franchisees, that can help the consumer identify discrepancies or prior problems with the business opportunity before they pay any fee. The FTC is seeking redress for consumers in each of its cases, as well as injunctive orders prohibiting the defendants from making false earnings claims and, as appropriate, using phony references or other deceptive business practices and from violating the Franchise Rule.
Another 23 actions have been brought by NASAA members enforcing state securities laws. These include violations of anti-fraud statutes, failure to file disclosure documents, as well as failure to register franchises and business opportunities. The remaining actions include requests for injunctions filed in state courts, investigative subpoenas, cease and desist orders and other actions initiated by state Attorneys General or other state consumer protection officials.
In cooperation with the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. (NASAA), the Federal Trade Commission has set-up a new Webpage that helps consumers to spot multilevel scams and pyramids. The site can be reached at: ftc.gov.
Several telecommunications companies selling business opportunities involving prepaid calling cards, long distance service, internet access, phone equipment and payphone routes were named among those being persued by The Commission. Many of them are companies that have been prominent on the internet in recent months.
Discount Long Distance Digest has been investigating several of these companies for some time now, for possible inclusion in our Hall of Shame. Below is a listing of all telecommunications-oriented companies involved in the FTC's Operation Missed Fortune. A complete list of all 75 (non telecom-related) companies involved in the Operation is available at the bottom of the page.
Destiny Telecomm International, Inc.
President: Randy Jeffers
Primary Location: Oakland, CA (also in the state of Oklahoma)
Address: 100 Swan Way Suite 204, Oakland, CA 94621
Phone: 1-510-635-4100, Fax 1-510-635-4400
Nature of Business: An investigative subpoena has been issued regarding the sale of this multi-level marketing scheme involving prepaid calling cards.
Media Contact: Florida Attorney General's Office, Henry Gill, 904-922-9206;
North Carolina Attorney General's Office, Christine Lanning, 919-715-2444
Links: amerleadnet.com
brigadoon.com
angelfire.com
salamander.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Startronix International
Startronix, Inc.
Startronix On-Line, Inc.
Startronix Telcom, Inc.
Norman M, Shink, President
Primary Location: Irvine, CA
Address: 2402 Michelson Drive, Suite #160 Irvine, CA 92715
Phone: 1-800-750-6615 (info hotline), 1-415-273-6130 (fax-on-demand)
Nature of Business: Pyramid scheme.
Media Contact: Michigan Attorney General's Office, Robert Ward, 517-373-7117
Links: searchscan.com
vmall.net
iypn.com
Startronix is a publicly-traded company (OTCBB: STNX) that offers a "screen phone" system. For about $60 a month, users lease what looks like a combination laptop computer and telephone, which comes with internet access. Subscribers have to "rent-to-own" the unit for a period of 4 years minimum, though some distributor's advertising literature makes reference to the screenphone being "FREE" ("Make money giving-away our computers!", some ads state.). The company promises to provide videoconferencing capabilities via the computer's built-in 28.8KBps modem, as well as other standard internet faire, including e-mail, newsgroups, etc. Distributors are promised a signifigant kickback on revenues generated by subscribers to this service.
We are extremely grateful that the FTC has taken action against Startronix! Besides being an extremely questionable "money making opportunity", in our opinion, their distributors have become one of the biggest annoyances that the telecom industry has ever seen. This office has received NUMEROUS get-rich-quick SPAMs from Startronix distributors. They have absolutely deluged the internet with unsolicited e-mail and annoying cross-posts to usenet newsgroups. Distributors have also sent numerous unsolicited junk faxes to our offices, in clear violation of federal laws against unsolicited faxing.
As if that weren't bad enough, numerous distributors of the company have set-up their own Webpages, and made unauthorized use of copyrighted articles published in Discount Long Distance Digest. We would NEVER allow an operation such as Startronix to use The Digest's name to bolster their own credibility by associating with us, but that is exactly what many of their distributors have tried to do. We will soon be sending notices to Webmasters at these sites, demanding that they cease and desist using our name. We regret that we ever had the misfortune to run their press releases in our journal to begin with. |
