FTC claims Orlando business bilked consumers out of tens of millions of dollars

ORLANDO, Fla. — The federal government claims an Orlando business and its owners bilked consumers out of tens of millions of dollars in a real estate training scheme targeting Spanish-speaking people.

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against a group of companies that operate under the name Ganadores Inversiones Bienes Raices and against the business leaders Richard Alvarez, Sara Alvarez, Robert Shemin and Bryce Chamberlin.

The business, often referred to as Ganadores or Ganadores IBR, is located on West Colonial Drive. It offers classes, seminars and coaching around the world with claims it teaches students how to make big money through online businesses and real estate.

Customer Elizabeth Villatoro was looking for information about real estate investing and saw an online ad for Ganadores in Spanish and that’s what drew her in to click on it.

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She told Action 9, “They tell you that you are going to need to have a seminar for three days and you have to pay $600.”

The FTC alleges Ganadores is involved in a scheme that targeted the Spanish-speaking consumers with “brazen and false money-making pitches.”

The federal agency says the three-day sessions, like the one Villatoro signed up for, are just another step to convince attendees to pay more than $28,000 for mentoring that will earn them six-figure incomes through an “infallible system.” The FTC says that mentoring program rarely delivers on its promises.

The FTC also alleges the operators of the alleged scheme hid key terms in English language contracts knowing many of the Spanish-speaking consumers may not be able to read them.

When Action 9′s Jeff Deal stopped by the Orlando office for Ganadores, Richard Alvarez wasn’t available and no one from the company wanted to address the allegations.

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The federal court documents state that Alvarez has “netted more than $1,600,000 from the Ganadores scheme so far.” In the court documents, the FTC also claims Alvarez and others involved in Ganadores and other similar business, have “bilked Spanish-speaking consumers throughout the country out of tens of millions of dollars” while violating a handful of federal laws.

Villatoro told Action 9 she paid the $600 to sign up for the three-day work session, but is thankful she didn’t spend thousands of dollars more for the mentoring program.

“I think that is horrible what they’re doing to the Hispanic community,” she said.

The court has issued a temporary restraining order, frozen the assets of people involved and appointed a monitor over the Ganadores companies. The FTC is asking the court to permanently stop its practices and return money to consumers impacted by this.

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