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Multi-level Marketing Operator Banned from Industry
Ottawa, — The Competition Bureau announced today that the Superior Court of Quebec has imposed an eight-year prohibition order under the Competition Act on the former President of NSV Nutrinautes Inc., Richard Guertin, which prohibits him from engaging or becoming involved in any future multi-level marketing plans.
In , NSV Nutrinautes, operating as Cocooning Club, pleaded guilty before the Quebec Court to violating the multi-level marketing, pyramid selling and general misleading representation provisions of the Act and was fined $75,000. Richard Arsernault, the Vice-president, received a conditional jail sentence of two years less a day after pleading guilty to four charges under the Act's deceptive marketing practices provisions. The company has since ceased operations.
As part of the 2005 settlement, Mr. Guertin agreed to personally pay $50,000 of the company fine in exchange for the dismissal of four charges against him. The fine has now been paid; consequently the charges against Mr. Guertin have been dismissed.
A Bureau investigation found that Cocooning Club and participants in its multi-level marketing plan made representations on Web sites and in a television infomercial that exaggerated income expectations without disclosing the income of a typical participant in the plan. Under the Competition Act, it is illegal for a multi-level marketing company or its participants to make reference to earnings in a multi-level marketing plan without disclosing the income of a typical participant.
Consumers who suspect they have been the victim of deceptive business practices or who want information on the application of the Competition Act should contact the Bureau's Information Centre at 1-800-348-5358, or visit the Web site at www.competitionbureau.gc.ca.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency. We contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Media Relations
Tel.: 819-994-5945
Email: media@cb-bc.gc.ca
For general enquiries, please contact:
Information Centre
Competition Bureau
Telephone: 819-997-4282
Toll free: 1-800-348-5358
TTY (hearing impaired): 1-800-642-3844
www.competitionbureau.gc.ca
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