The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has successfully obtained a temporary restraining order from a federal court to shut down the operations of Automators AI. This action comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the regulator against Roman Cresto, John Cresto, and Andrew Chapman, who are associated with Automators AI. It should be noted that the company has previously operated under the names Empire Ecommerce and Onyx Distribution.
According to the FTC, Automators AI enticed consumers to invest a whopping $22 million in online stores through misleading claims about income and profits. In particular, the operators of Automators AI touted the use of artificial intelligence that would allegedly guarantee success and profitability for investors. However, these claims have been deemed baseless by the regulator.
The complaint filed by the FTC alleges that the Crestos and Chapman deceived consumers with false assertions regarding their track record of helping individuals make money in online stores. Additionally, they falsely claimed that Empire was backed by venture capital, despite there being no evidence of any firm investing in the company.
As a result, the defendants have been accused of violating the FTC Act, the Business Opportunity Rule, and the Consumer Review Fairness Act. The FTC is seeking a permanent shutdown of Automators AI's operations.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, which subsequently granted the temporary restraining order against the defendants on August 11th.
