Most Assets of Company Accused of Tech Support Scam Remain Frozen
The majority of assets held by a Florida software company accused of bilking customers through a tech support scam remain frozen, and a trial court has been directed to examine some of the managers’ personal accounts, a federal court said…
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Thursday. The FTC and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi sued Vylah Tec in 2017, alleging Angelo Cupo, Robert Cupo and Dennis Cupo, who manage various businesses tied to Vylah, deceptively marketed and sold technical support services and software to consumers in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The scam involved extorting money from consumers by tricking them into thinking their computers were infected with viruses or malware, Bondi alleged. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida originally granted FTC’s motion to freeze the Cupos’ assets. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed a majority of the asset freeze Thursday. The court remanded the case to the district court “for further factual findings and conclusions of law” on potential freezes to personal accounts. Offices for Vylah and Bondi didn’t comment, and the FTC doesn’t comment on pending litigation. Bondi is collaborating with the FTC on a crackdown on international tech support scams.