August 01st, 2015

    TRENTON, NJ - Telebrands Inc., an "As Seen on TV" company, which sells products like the Pocket Hose, Wow Cup, and PediPaws pet nail trimmer, was sued by New Jersey. The lawsuit states that the company scammed customers by aggressively pushing more expensive products. It also states that the company was shipping - and billing for - products not ordered, and using misleading advertising. Telebrands, not able to really counter any of those accusations, settled out of court. NJ Attorney General John Hoffman said, “No longer will consumers find themselves subjected to an onslaught of solicitations for products that they have no interest in." Now the company has to obey the rules... imagine that. Oh, and they have to pay the state of New Jersey $550,000! If you do buy any "As Seen on TV" products, remember that you're probably getting something half as good as what they're saying - at twice the cost!

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   DES MOINES, IOWA - Eddie Tipton, 52, was promoted to Information Security Director for the Multi-State Lottery Association in 2013. As an employee, he was prohibited from playing the lottery in Iowa. Rules are set up against people playing in their own company's raffles, sweepstakes, and other games. It's a conflict of interest. But that didn't stop Tipton. He rigged the winning numbers in the multi-state lottery called Hot Lotto, then deleted ​them so it couldn't be detected. Tipton bought the winning ticket, wearing a hood, and gave it to a friend. He told his friend to cash it without revealing Tipton's name. But Iowa demands the name of the original buyer of the ticket. Tipton was all set to collect $14 million, but he never did get his hands on the money. The only thing he collected was a pink slip and a guilty verdict for two counts of fraud. 

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