Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Two associates of Utah businessman Jeremy Johnson have reached settlements with regulators in a federal lawsuit alleging Internet fraud by Johnson's I Works and related companies, court records show.
The settlements cover two of the nine Johnson associates who have been sued by the Federal Trade Commission.
Former I Works General Manager Bryce Payne agreed to pay the FTC $20,000 and surrender one gold coin and other assets including insurance policies and a mutual fund.
Former company project manager Kevin Pilon will pay $1,000 and surrender any money he has left in related business accounts.
The settlement papers filed Wednesday show both men also agreed to a series of restrictions on future business dealings.
The FTC has accused I Works of bilking U.S. consumers out of millions of dollars by charging their credit cards without authorization for information on get-rich schemes and supposed government grants for individuals.
The settlements have been signed by the defendants and approved by FTC commissioners, agency spokesman Frank Dorman confirmed Friday, and await approval by U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du in Las Vegas.
Johnson has been separately indicted in Utah on 86 counts of fraud and money laundering. The St. George businessman loudly proclaimed his innocence and accused regulators and prosecutors of wrongdoing before being muzzled recently by a federal magistrate.
FTC lawyers are set to take a deposition from Johnson on Sept. 5, followed the next day with one of his top lieutenants, Scott Leavitt, court records show. Both men are acting as their own lawyers.
When regulators filed the complaint in December 2010, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a news release, "No consumer should be sucker-punched into making payments for products they don't know about and don't want."
The FTC complaint names Johnson, nine associates, 10 companies led by I Works and 51 shell companies. Regulators say Johnson used various business names to get around credit-card companies that shut down I Works because of a high rate of reverse charges ordered by consumers.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
