Originally published February 13 2006
AmeriDebt founder to pay $35 million to settle lawsuits
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Almost all of Andris Pukke's assets (including two multimillion-dollar homes) will be sold to help repay around 300,000 AmeriDebt customers. Pukke did not admit any wrongdoing.
The founder of the defunct credit-counseling firm AmeriDebt Inc. yesterday agreed to pay up to $35 million to settle two lawsuits accusing him of misleading debt-burdened consumers into paying high fees to support his lavish lifestyle.
Under the settlement, virtually all of Andris Pukke's assets, including his multimillion-dollar homes in Miami Beach and Southern California, would be sold, with the proceeds going to a fund that could be used to help repay about 300,000 AmeriDebt customers.
The trial would have combined two lawsuits -- one by the Federal Trade Commission and the other a related national class action case brought by former clients of AmeriDebt and another firm owned by Pukke.
Pukke's estranged wife, Pamela Pukke, was named as a co-defendant because the FTC argued she benefited financially from the alleged fraud even if she didn't participate in it.
She settled on Dec. 30, agreeing to give up assets worth about $1.8 million, including her Florida home.
Pukke did not admit any wrongdoing but did acknowledge in the settlement that money and assets to be paid into the fund for consumer refunds "were derived from payments by consumers as an alleged consequence of the acts and practices" cited by the FTC.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been investigating business activities of a number of firms run by Pukke or his relatives to determine whether any engaged in mail fraud by soliciting payments from consumers under false pretenses.
In his bankruptcy filing, Pukke listed assets of $53.4 million, including $24 million in real estate and $13.6 million in liabilities, not including the claims from the IRS or pending lawsuits.
FTC attorney Lucy Morris said it is unclear how much Pukke is really worth.
In April, the FTC persuaded a federal judge to freeze Pukke's assets and appoint a court receiver to control his funds after the agency became concerned that Pukke was dissipating his assets.
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