Filing # E-Filed 05/08/ :47:12 PM

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1 Filing # E-Filed 05/08/ :47:12 PM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS, Plaintiff, -vs- CASE NO. 2017CA STUDENT RELATIONS, INC. a/k/a SRI INC., a dissolved Florida For-Profit Corporation, AMERICAN YOUTH GROUP INC., an active Florida Not-For-Profit Corporation, SRI CAMPUS ENTERPRISES INC., an active Florida For-Profit Corporation, NCP NATIONAL CAMPUS PROFESSIONAL INC a/k/a NATIONAL CAMPUS PROFESSIONALS a/k/a NCPCAMPUS a/k/a NCP INC, an active Florida For-Profit Corporation, LEWIS VICTOR, an individual, KARL VICTOR, an individual, and LYNN VICTOR, an individual, Defendants. / AMENDED COMPLAINT Plaintiff, Office of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Department of Legal Affairs ( Attorney General ), brings this action under Florida s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act, Chapter 501, Part II, Florida Statutes ( FDUTPA ), against STUDENT RELATIONS, INC. a/k/a SRI INC., a dissolved Florida For-Profit Corporation, AMERICAN YOUTH GROUP INC., an

2 active Florida Not-For-Profit Corporation, SRI CAMPUS ENTERPRISES INC., an active For- Profit Florida Corporation, NCP NATIONAL CAMPUS PROFESSIONAL INC a/k/a NATIONAL CAMPUS PROFESSIONALS a/k/a NCPCAMPUS a/k/a NCP INC, an active For- Profit Florida Corporation (collectively, the Corporate Defendants ), LEWIS VICTOR, an individual, KARL VICTOR, an individual, and LYNN VICTOR, an individual (collectively with Corporate Defendants, the Defendants ), to obtain permanent injunctive relief and other statutory and equitable relief, and further states: I. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 1. This action is brought to obtain permanent injunctive relief, pursuant to Section (1)(b), Florida Statutes; civil penalties pursuant to Sections and , Florida Statutes; equitable relief pursuant to (3), Florida Statutes, including consumer restitution; and other just and appropriate relief under FDUTPA. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to FDUTPA and Section , Florida Statutes. 2. Defendants at all times material to this Complaint, whether acting alone or in concert with others, solicited consumers within the definition of Section (7), Florida Statutes, and engaged in trade or commerce as defined by Section (8), Florida Statutes. 3. Venue is proper in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit as Defendants, during the pertinent period alleged in this Complaint, maintained a place of business in Palm Beach County, Florida. Further, the statutory violations alleged herein affected, or occurred in, more than one judicial circuit in the State of Florida, and elsewhere throughout the United States. II. PLAINTIFF 4. The Attorney General is an enforcing authority of FDUTPA and is authorized by Section (1)(b), Florida Statutes, to bring an action to enjoin any person who has violated, 2

3 is violating, or is otherwise likely to violate FDUTPA, and by Section (3), Florida Statutes, to obtain equitable relief, as appropriate. 5. The State of Florida has conducted an investigation, and the Attorney General has determined that an enforcement action serves the public interest, as required by Section (2), Florida Statutes. III. DEFENDANTS 6. Defendant, STUDENT RELATIONS, INC. a/k/a SRI INC. ( STUDENT RELATIONS ) is a dissolved Florida For-Profit Corporation established on August 31, 2012, with its principal place of business located at 1300 SW 10 th Street, Suite 2, Delray Beach, Florida, Defendant, AMERICAN YOUTH GROUP, INC. ( AMERICAN YOUTH GROUP ) is an active Florida Not-For-Profit Corporation established on January 23, 2013, with its principal place of business located at 1300 SW 10th Street, Suite 2, Delray Beach, Florida, SRI CAMPUS ENTERPRISES INC. ( SRI ), is an active Florida For-Profit Corporation established on June 26, 2013, with its principal place of business located at 1300 SW 10th Street, Suite 2, Delray Beach, Florida, NCP NATIONAL CAMPUS PROFESSIONAL INC a/k/a NATIONAL CAMPUS PROFESSIONALS a/k/a NCPCAMPUS a/k/a NCP INC ( NCP ) is an active Florida For-Profit Corporation established on January 27, 2015, with its principal place of business located at 1300 SW 10th Street, Suite 2, Delray Beach, Florida, Defendant, LEWIS VICTOR, resides in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida. LYNN VICTOR is not in the military and is otherwise sui juris. 3

4 11. Defendant, KARL VICTOR, resides in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida. KARL VICTOR is not in the military and is otherwise sui juris. 12. Defendant, LYNN VICTOR, resides in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida. LYNN VICTOR is not in the military and is otherwise sui juris. IV. DEFENDANTS MISLEADING AND DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES (Defendants Deceptive Marketing and Solicitation) 13. Beginning in or around at least 2012, and continuing until at least 2016, the Attorney General began receiving complaints from business owners alleging that Defendants were engaging in deceptive trade practices as it relates to their advertising services. 14. According to complaining business owners, the Corporate Defendants employees made unsolicited sales visits for the purpose of marketing and selling advertising space in drug and alcohol folders (alternatively folders ), which the Corporate Defendants salespersons claimed would be distributed on the campuses of high schools, colleges, and/or universities ( local schools ) in the businesses service areas. 15. In inducing business owners to purchase advertising space in the folders, the Corporate Defendants salespersons falsely stated that they were either working directly with the referenced local schools or that they were authorized or approved by the school system within which these schools were located. 16. However, when many of the complaining business owners contacted the schools, they learned that the folders containing their advertisements had never been distributed on the schools campuses and that the folders had no reasonable chance of ever being distributed. 17. In fact, the Corporate Defendants did not have an agreement with most of the local schools to distribute the folders, contrary to the representations of the Corporate Defendants 4

5 salespersons, and in most cases did not have the authority or permission of the local schools to make such representations. 18. Moreover, upon learning about these false representations implying the schools approval, many of the schools employees contacted law enforcement to report the Corporate Defendants deceptive business practices. 19. As the Corporate Defendants in most instances did not have the schools permission to distribute the folders containing the businesses advertising in the first place, the Corporate Defendants knew, or should have known, at the time that their salespersons solicited the businesses that the folders would never be distributed on those schools campuses and thus their representations were false and misleading. 20. Defendants, LEWIS VICTOR, KARL VICTOR, and LYNN VICTOR, use a variety of company names to engage in the deceptive business practices complained of herein, including, but not limited to, STUDENT RELATIONS, AMERICAN YOUTH GROUP, SRI, and NCP. 21. Defendant, LEWIS VICTOR, upon information and belief, managed the day-today operations of the Corporate Defendants herein. Defendant, LEWIS VICTOR, formulated, directed, controlled, had the authority to control, and directly participated in the acts and practices of the Corporate Defendants. Defendant LEWIS VICTOR was further responsible for hiring, training, retaining, and paying employees for the Corporate Defendants, and was a direct participant in the deceptive practices alleged herein. 22. Defendant, KARL VICTOR, is, and has been at all times since its inception, the Director, President and sole owner of Corporate Defendant, SRI, and as such controlled or had the authority to control the acts and practices of SRI. 5

6 23. Defendant, LYNN VICTOR, is, and has been at all times since its inception, the Director, President and sole owner of Corporate Defendant, NCP, and as such controlled or had the authority to control the acts and practices of NCP. 24. Defendants, LEWIS VICTOR, KARL VICTOR, and LYNN VICTOR, knew, or should have known, that the Corporate Defendants acts and practices were unfair or deceptive and misleading to consumers. 25. The Corporate Defendants deceptive actions and misrepresentations were likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances and in fact did mislead consumers in the State of Florida and elsewhere throughout the United States. 26. As a result of the Corporate Defendants deceptive actions and misrepresentations, consumers have suffered injury. 27. Unless Defendants are permanently enjoined from engaging further in the acts and practices complained of herein, the continued activities of Defendants will result in irreparable injury to the public for which there is no adequate remedy at law. COUNT I VIOLATION OF FLORIDA S DECEPTIVE AND UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES ACT 28. Plaintiff adopts, incorporates herein and re-alleges Paragraphs 1-27 above as if fully set forth herein. 29. Section , Florida Statutes, prohibits unfair methods of competition or unconscionable, deceptive, or unfair acts or practices in the conduct of trade or commerce. 30. As more fully detailed above in paragraphs 1 through 27, the Corporate Defendants engaged in a pattern of deceptive and unfair acts and practices in the sale and marketing of their advertising services. 6

7 31. When construing whether acts or practices violate FDUTPA, it is the intent of the Legislature that due consideration and great weight shall be given to the interpretations [by] the Federal Trade Commission and the federal courts relating to the Federal Trade Commission Act. Section (2), Florida Statutes. 32. Additionally, all FDUTPA provisions are to be construed liberally to promote the protection of the consuming public and legitimate business enterprises from those who engage in deceptive, or unfair acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce and to make state consumer protection and enforcement consistent with established policies of federal law relating to consumer protection. Section , Florida Statutes. 33. The Corporate Defendants deceptive actions and misrepresentations were likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances and in fact did mislead consumers in the State of Florida and elsewhere throughout the United States. 34. Once a corporation s liability for violations of FDUTPA is established, individual defendants may be liable for 1) injunctive relief for the corporate defendants practices if the individual defendants participated directly in the acts or practices or had authority to control them; and 2) monetary relief if the individual had actual or constructive knowledge of the practices. 35. Defendants, LEWIS VICTOR, KARL VICTOR, and LYNN VICTOR, had the authority to control, controlled, and/or directly participated in the Corporate Defendants acts and practices. 36. Defendants, LEWIS VICTOR, KARL VICTOR, and LYNN VICTOR, knew, or should have known, that the Corporate Defendants acts and practices alleged herein were unfair or deceptive or prohibited by rule. 7

8 37. Accordingly, Defendants, LEWIS VICTOR, KARL VICTOR, and LYNN VICTOR, are individually liable for the Corporate Defendants FDUTPA violations. 38. Defendants have violated FDUTPA, and the above-described acts and practices of Defendants have injured and prejudiced the public and consumers in the State of Florida and elsewhere throughout the United States. 39. Unless Defendants are permanently enjoined from engaging further in the acts and practices complained of herein, Defendants continued deceptive and unfair business practices will result in irreparable injury to the public and consumers in the State of Florida for which there is no adequate remedy at law. 40. Sections , , and , Florida Statutes, authorize this Court to grant such relief as this Court finds appropriate. 41. Pursuant to Section (3), Florida Statutes, this Court is authorized in an action brought by the enforcing authority under Section (1)(b), Florida Statutes, to enter an order that the Defendants provide equitable relief, which includes restitution. 42. Defendants have committed one or more willful violations of Section , Florida Statutes, and pursuant to Section , Florida Statutes, this Court is also authorized to impose a civil penalty upon the Defendants of up to $10, for each willful violation of FDUTPA by Defendants. 43. Defendants have committed one or more willful violations of Section , Florida Statutes, and this Court is authorized to impose a civil penalty upon the Defendants of up to $15, for each willful violation of FDUTPA that victimizes a senior citizen or handicapped person as defined in that Section. 8

9 44. The Attorney General has incurred reasonable attorney s fees and costs and is entitled to have those fees and costs reimbursed by Defendants pursuant to Sections and , Florida Statutes. V. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, the Attorney General, pursuant to FDUTPA, requests that this Honorable Court enter Judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, to: A. Permanently ENJOIN Defendants and their officers, affiliates, agents, servants, employees, and those persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this injunction, from engaging in any activity which relates in any manner to the marketing, sale, offering, providing, or accepting of payment for any advertising-related services to consumers, including, but not limited to, advertising in folders to be distributed on school campuses or elsewhere; and from committing future violations of FDUTPA. B. Award such relief as the Court finds appropriate pursuant to Section (3), Florida Statutes, including restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, or both pursuant to Section (3), Florida Statutes; C. Assess civil penalties in the amount of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) as prescribed by Section , Florida Statutes, or Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) for victimized senior citizens as prescribed by Section , Florida Statutes, for each act or practice found to be in violation of FDUTPA; 9

10 D. Award attorney s fees and costs pursuant to Sections and , Florida Statutes, or as otherwise authorized by law; and. E. GRANT such other relief as this Court deems just and proper. Dated this 8 th day of May, Respectfully Submitted, PAMELA JO BONDI ATTORNEY GENERAL Carol E. A. DeGraffenreidt Carol E. A. DeGraffenreidt Assistant Attorney General Fla. Bar No.: Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 1515 N. Flagler Drive, Suite 900 West Palm Beach, FL Primary: Carol. DeGraffenreidt@myfloridalegal.com Telephone: Facsimile: