People who lost money in an alleged tech support scam run out of Essex, Connecticut and Pennsylvania could be entitled for reimbursement after a federal court in Pennsylvania ordered that the operators’ assets be used to pay back consumers who lost money, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
In May, the FTC, Connecticut and Pennsylvania announced settlements with Bruce Bartolotta, of Deep River; Click4Support, LLC, which operated out of Essex; Spanning Source LLC; George Saab, of Massachusetts; Chetan Patel and Niraj Patel, both of Pennsylvania; as well as Innovazion Inc.; Innovazion Research Private Limited; Abhishek Gagneja; and Rishi Gagneja, banning the defendants from marketing technical support services, It also included an agreement to pay a total of more than $554,000 and to forfeit $1.3 million held by the receiver, according to the FTC.
The FTC alleges that the defendants used Internet ads and popups that claimed to be from major tech companies like Microsoft and Apple to trick consumers into calling the defendants and buying tech support services.
If you think you were a victim, you can file a consumer complaint with the FTC by visiting www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or by calling (877) 382-4357.
