THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150395
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
A federal court has ordered a promotion on the Internet halted after the Federal Trade Commission filed a false-advertising complaint - its first for the giant information superhighway.
``As these computer networks continue to grow, we will not tolerate the use of deceptive practices here anymore than we have tolerated them on other recently emerged technologies for marketing,'' FTC Chairman Janet D. Steiger said.
The FTC charged Brian Corzine of Sacramento, Calif., with making false claims in promoting a credit-repair program.
Corzine said that he was a reseller of the program, which was developed by other people and had been presented to him as perfectly legal.
``We're trying to clear this up today,'' he said, commenting that other businesses are selling the same program, though not necessarily via computer.
Corzine, also known as Brian Chase, sold the system for $99 through a business called Chase Consulting, the FTC said. It said the court in Sacramento had ordered the promotion halted.
The promotion, on the worldwide computer network known as the Internet, claimed to provide legal ways to repair credit, while actually suggesting illegal steps, the commission charged.
KEYWORDS: INTERNET COURT RULING by CNB