A lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has shut down Ganadores Online and Ganadores Inversiones Bienes Raíces, a scam targeting Spanish-speaking consumers with fraudulent money-making pitches for online businesses and real estate investments.
The FTC sued Ganadores in June 2023, charging that after consumers paid significant amounts—sometimes tens of thousands of dollars—for training and coaching, they discovered that Ganadores failed to deliver the training and mentoring that they promised and that they did not make any money. When consumers sought refunds, the defendants often refused, telling consumers they had only three days to seek a refund. The complaint also charged that while the company’s marketing and sales were conducted largely in Spanish and many of its targeted audience had limited or no English fluency, the company’s contracts with consumers, including key disclosures, were often provided exclusively in English.
The settlements include two proposed court orders: one order against the companies and its owners/managers Richard Alvarez and Sara Alvarez; and the other order against marketing-focused employee Bryce Chamberlain. The order against the companies and the Alvarezes would require them to surrender funds, real estate, and other assets with a total value of approximately $6 million, while the order against Chamberlain requires him to turn over $35,000 to the FTC.
The orders contain a total monetary judgment of $29 million, which is partially suspended but for the asset transfers described above, based on the defendants’ inability to pay the full amount. If the defendants are found to have lied to the FTC about their financial status, the full judgment would be immediately payable.
“Ganadores scammed hard-working people with false promises of financial freedom, leaving many consumers with nothing but crushing credit card debt,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We have taken decisive action to end that egregious conduct and recover ill-gotten gains, and we will continue to vigorously pursue those who engage in violations of the laws we enforce.”
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