Response Marketing and the first celebrity endorser settlements
In May 2023 the FTC and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection announced $16.7 million in settlements with Utah-based Response Marketing Group, its affiliates, five individuals and two real estate celebrities, Scott Yancey and Dean Graziosi, who promoted its training programs. A court had found many of the company's claims false or misleading. The order permanently bans "wealth creation" sales, and the celebrity payments were the FTC's first monetary settlements with celebrity endorsers.
- Year
- 2023
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Settled
- Reported loss
- $16.7 million
- Victims
- 4,670
- Schemes
- Real estate investing seminar scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-29
The facts, as recorded
- The FTC and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection sued Response Marketing Group, LLC in November 2019; the FTC later named celebrities Scott Yancey, star of the home-flipping show Flipping Vegas, and Dean R. Graziosi, author of Millionaire Success Habits, as additional defendants.
- Response Marketing drew consumers to free events through infomercials and social media ads, then sold three-day workshops for around $1,000, then pitched additional training costing tens of thousands of dollars.
- It then upsold a telemarketed coaching program, described as exclusive "Inner Circle" training with limited spots, that could cost as much as an additional $30,000.
- In a June 2022 opinion partially granting the FTC's motion for summary judgment, the district court found many claims false or misleading, including claims about special access to a funding network, letters enabling cash offers, buyers lined up for flips, and limited spots in the Inner Circle.
- The complaint alleged the vast majority of customers did not become successful real estate investors and did not even recoup what they spent.
- The programs were sold under names including Affluence Edu, Cash Flow Edu, Flip for Life, OnWealth, Renovate to Rent and Visionary Events; the company's predecessor began selling real estate investment training in the early 2010s.
- Yancey and Graziosi promoted the programs and, according to the complaint, were involved in efforts to bury online customer complaints that Response Marketing failed to deliver or was a scam.
- The company, its affiliates Nudge, LLC and BuyPD, LLC, four alleged owners and its president are banned from selling wealth creation products and services anywhere in the country and must pay $15 million for redress, with an additional $15 million in civil penalties payable to Utah if that is not paid.
- Graziosi agreed to pay $1.25 million and Yancey $450,000, the FTC's first monetary settlements with celebrity endorsers.
- The court approved the Graziosi and Yancey settlements on April 24, 2023 and the others on May 18, 2023; the FTC announced them on May 22, 2023.
- On March 21, 2024 the FTC announced refunds of more than $10 million going to 4,670 consumers, and claim notices to nearly 400 more.
- Utah Department of Commerce Executive Director Margaret Busse called it the largest consumer protection division settlement in Utah's history.
- An FTC consumer alert on the related Nudge complaint says the FTC's court filings showed Nudge took in more than $400 million from its seminars, and that an FTC survey of customers found more than 95 percent paid more to Nudge than they cleared in later real estate transactions.
Why this case matters
Response Marketing brought celebrity endorsement into the enforcement record. The FTC’s settlements with Scott Yancey and Dean Graziosi were its first monetary settlements with celebrity endorsers, on a set of training programs that a federal judge had already found were sold with false or misleading claims.
The funnel and the price ladder
Free events promoted through infomercials and social media led to a workshop of around $1,000, then training programs costing tens of thousands, then a telemarketed “Inner Circle” coaching program of as much as an additional $30,000. The Inner Circle claim of limited spots was among the claims the judge found false or misleading in June 2022.
What the court found
The June 2022 opinion partially granted the FTC’s summary judgment motion. It found false or misleading the claims of special access to a funding network, letters that would let students make discounted cash offers, and buyers lined up for flips, as well as the claim of limited Inner Circle spots. That ruling is more than an allegation.
Burying complaints
The complaint alleged that Yancey and Graziosi promoted the training and were involved in efforts to bury online customer complaints saying Response Marketing had failed to deliver or was a scam.
The caveat
The June 2022 court opinion found many of Response Marketing’s claims false or misleading, and the final orders are court orders. Other allegations, including the description of who owned the company and the allegation about burying complaints, are from the FTC and Utah’s complaint and were resolved by settlement rather than trial. The two celebrities agreed to pay $1.25 million and $450,000; the FTC’s release describes their role as promoting the programs and helping bury complaints, per the complaint.
Sources
- FTC Suit Leads to $16.7 Million Judgment Against Principals and Celebrity Endorsers of Real Estate Investment Training Program. US Federal Trade Commission. Accessed 2026-09-29. Supports: The defendants, the funnel prices, the Inner Circle upsell, the June 2022 opinion, the program names, the $15 million and $1.7 million payments, the celebrity settlement amounts, the dates and the Busse quote.
- FTC Sends More Than $10 Million in Refunds to Consumers Harmed by Real Estate Investment Training Scheme. US Federal Trade Commission. Accessed 2026-09-29. Supports: The March 21, 2024 refund distribution, the 4,670 consumers and the nearly 400 claim notices.
- Yet another real estate seminar scam. US Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. Accessed 2026-09-29. Supports: The more than $400 million in Nudge seminar revenue from court filings and the FTC survey finding that more than 95 percent of attendees paid more than they cleared.