“People trusted this guy to help hatch their ideas but it turns out he’s a pretty rotten egg,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says. “It’s time to hold him accountable.”
Yost is referring to Eric Corl, the owner of a Dublin Ohio company called Idea Buyer that allegedly conned people out of $800,000 by promising to help them launch their inventions.
According to a lawsuit announced by the Ohio AG on Thursday, Corl’s company took nearly a million dollars from customers and provided almost nothing in return.
Forty-nine complaints from Ohio, 22 other states, and two Canadian provinces have been submitted to Ohio’s Consumer Protections. Idea Buyer abruptly announced it was shutting down last December.
According to complaints, the company pushed customers into signing contracts and paying thousands of dollars upfront for services. They told would-be inventors that investors were interested in their products and it was important to act now. After customers paid up, Idea Buyer stopped calling and became impossible to get in touch with.
As one customer wrote on the Better Business Bureau site, “I contacted the company with an idea for an app. They seemed so excited and happy to work with me on this project. I transferred $12,000 US and signed a contract to begin work (said it would take a year). They created a logo and a mock-up of how a web app would work/look which I loved. I hadn’t heard from them in a while, so sent an email for an update. Received an automatic response that they are closed.”
All of this violates Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act. Yost not only wants a refund for the customers, but he’s also asking for fines for violating state law and an order prohibiting Corl from breaking Ohio consumer protection laws again.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of this company or another deceptive company, contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioProtects.org or 800-282-0515.
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Keywords: Yost Eric Corl Idea Buyer