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FTC puts an end to 'The Sales Mentor', arrests the alleged scammers

The Sales Mentor: FTC charged the Tennessee-based group of companies, their owners, their officers, and a former sales director

December 11, 2023

The Federal Trade Commission has obtained proposed orders against the operators of a wide-ranging scheme known as �The Sales Mentor� that made millions by falsely promising consumers that they could make big money from telemarketing sales.

. The FTC says:

In a federal court complaint, the FTC charged the Tennessee-based group of companies, their owners, their officers, and a former sales director with deceiving consumers to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for supposed telemarketing training programs that rarely, if ever, delivered on what was promised. In addition, the FTC said the companies continued to make deceptive earnings claims even after they received the FTC�s Notices of Penalty Offenses on money-making opportunities and on endorsements and testimonials warning them that such conduct is illegal.

Who are the defendants:

The defendants, including

Taylor Welch,
Christopher Evans,
Payton Welch,
Ashton Shanks,
Evans and
Welch, Inc., WE Capital, LLC, Traffic and Funnels, LLC, and Evans and Welch Holdings, LLC,

What are they accused of:

are alleged to have made false claims, such as

promising incomes of $10,000 to $20,000 per month, and
misleadingly boasting about helping over 25,000 people find substantial incomes.
The complaint also reveals false claims about having a waiting list of companies eager to hire program graduates.

What is being ordered?

There are two proposed court orders, which were agreed to by the defendants to settle the case: one against Evans and the other against the Welches; Shanks; Evans and Welch, Inc.; WE Capital, LLC; Traffic and Funnels, LLC; and Evans and Welch Holdings, LLC. Both orders include:

Prohibition on deceptive earnings claims: Each of the defendants will be prohibited from making earnings claims that are misleading or unsubstantiated.
Prohibition on deceiving consumers: The defendants will be prohibited from any misrepresentation in selling of any goods or services.
Turn over money: The orders will require Taylor Welch to turn over $600,000 and Evans to turn over $400,000 to the FTC to be used to provide refunds to consumers harmed by the scheme.

The orders contain a total monetary judgment of $16,363,073.11 against all of the defendants except Shanks, which is largely suspended based on the defendants� inability to pay the full amount. If the defendants are found to have lied to the FTC about the financial status, the full judgment would be immediately payable.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint and stipulated final orders was 3-0. The FTC filed the complaint and final orders in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Details of the scheme:

Consumers reportedly paid over $29 million to the defendants between 2018 and 2022. The proposed court orders, agreed upon by the defendants to settle the case, include provisions for prohibiting deceptive earnings claims and misrepresentations in selling goods or services. The defendants will be required to turn over a total of $1 million for consumer refunds, with Taylor Welch contributing $600,000 and Christopher Evans contributing $400,000. The orders stipulate a total monetary judgment of $16,363,073.11 against the defendants, with a portion suspended based on their financial circumstances.

The various Sales Mentor �packages� ranged in price from $97 to more than $9,000, according to the complaint. Consumers complained that the supposed private mentoring at higher levels was never made available, and that in many cases the higher levels received the same online video series that could be purchased at lower costs.

According to the complaint, consumers paid more than $29 million to the defendants when the scheme was active between 2018 and 2022. During that time, one of the corporate defendants in 2021 received the FTC�s Notice of Penalty Offenses relating to earnings claims and endorsements. The complaint charges that the defendants violated the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule and engaged in illegal practices described in the Notices they received.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has �reason to believe� that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. Stipulated final injunctions/orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The staff attorneys on this matter are Virginia Rosa and Frances Kern of the FTC�s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.