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Special Alert
March 2009 Quick links
Special Promotional Offer  Company
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|  SPECIAL ALERT
Beware $500 Gas and Grocery Incentives As investigators continue their review of Tidewater Marketing’s free gas card program, another firm is looking to take its place — one run by a man with his own history of financial schemes, tax troubles and complaints. Troy Warren of Mesa, Ariz., and his BBZ Resource Management company have been flooding e-mail boxes in Florida and elsewhere with offers for a gas and grocery program much like that of the Largo-Clearwater based Tidewater Marketing Global Consultants. Tidewater is under state control and the subject of a criminal investigation for deceptive business practices. A state-appointed receiver is expected to issue his initial report shortly about Tidewater, a company run by Seminole businesswoman Crystal M. Clark. Tidewater has failed to deliver thousands of gas cards promised to consumers throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. BBZ says, unlike Tidewater, it delivers the promised product. Warren, vice president of BBZ, has made promises before that he had trouble delivering on from companies he ran in Arizona, Florida and Nevada. Some of his past business deals resulted in: • A lawsuit by MasterCard International in 1991 that accused Warren and more than a dozen other defendants of taking millions from consumers through false offers of low-rate credit cards under a company they ran, called Listworld. The case was settled and dismissed. Listworld filed bankruptcy and reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which shut the operation down for deceptive practices. • A bankruptcy filing that left Warren with a judgment for $1.9 million that he was declared responsible for in an order in 2006. • An order by the Arizona Corporation Commission that Warren pay $20,000 in restitution to investors for selling stock he did not register for a charitable Internet business, FreeFundRaisingPrograms.com Inc. • The Better Business Bureau gave Warren an "F" for his failed SearchBigDaddy.com Internet products and services business because of complaints, failure to respond to complaints and lack of business background. • Warren also has been sued at least five times for failing to pay state and federal taxes in the tens of thousands of dollars, from the early 1990s to 2005. BBZ's gas and grocery program is less than a year old, so it's unclear how well it works. But the strategy appears the same as Tidewater's. The failure of Tidewater's gas voucher program could cost retailers millions of dollars if they must make up for the undelivered gas cards. Retailers from tire retailers and travel agencies to car dealerships and electronics stores used the program. Mpell Solutions is an A-rated BBB company. We have dozens of stellar references from Fortune 500 companies. Call us today to learn how we can boost your advertising response and conversion rates while you can feel secure about the integrity of your business partner and the impact on your customers. |
