Other LanguagesThe Wizard of Oz hid behind a Web of lies until he was confronted by Dorothy. Here in our own Emerald City, we have an issue with another kind of deceit: SEOs that boast amazing feats.
Just weeks after Wizy-Wiz eCommerce set up shop a few miles outside Seattle, the Washington Attorney General’s Office is lifting the curtain on its deceptive business practices.
The state filed a civil lawsuit today in King County Superior Court, accusing the company’s owners of repeatedly failing to deliver on their promises to help small and mid-size businesses sell their products online.
“It’s time for Wizy-Wiz eCommerce’s owners to show they have the brains, heart and courage to make good on their promises and only promise what they can deliver,” Attorney General Rob McKenna said.
The state’s complaint names three Washington men as defendants: Jeremy Avey, Alexander Martin and Brent Stanphill. Also addressed in the suit are three businesses: Cybercom Technologies, which has done business in Bothell as Wizy-Wiz eCommerce since mid-March 2009; TNT Cart, which also operated under the name Strada Technologies in Kirkland and Seattle from December 2008 until March 3, 2009; and White Crane Technologies, which operated in Redmond from April 2006 through April 2007.
The office brought a similar enforcement action against Internet Advancement, a Redmond-based company that sells search-engine optimization services in August 2004 and again in November 2007, resulting in a settlement in April 2008, along with a $118,386 civil penalty and restitution for harmed customers. In November 2008, the office sued Redmond-based Visible.net, Captures.com and their owner, Gilbert Walker, of violating state consumer protection and telemarketing laws. The case is pending in King County Superior Court.