State settles in pyramid-scheme case

Tuesday, May 16, 2000 | 8:38 a.m.

Bigsmart, based in Las Vegas, and two men involved in the business must also stop paying commissions for the sale of Internet malls and provide an accounting of money received from Maine purchasers.

The state also named Richard V. Slaback, an Arizona resident who is president of Bigsmart, and Jeff Fournier of Scarborough, who has been involved in the Maine operation, in its complaint.

Consent agreements submitted to Kennebec County Superior Court on Monday require the defendants to issue refunds that could total several hundred thousand dollars to about 1,200 Mainers, and pay $50,000 in fines and court costs.

The consent decrees do not require any admission of wrongdoing.

Attorney General Andrew Ketterer said Maine is the first state to bring a suit against the company.

"We're so used to be being in the middle of the pack because of the size of our division," he said.

The case is one of the largest his office's consumers affairs division has had in terms of restitution to be paid, he said.

Assistant Attorney General Linda Conti said Internet users who link from the Bigsmart Website to the site of certain retail businesses that have contracts with Bigsmart can get discounts for certain products.

Authorities raised concerns about payment of commissions for the sales of Internet malls, Conti said.

Ketterer said Mainers should beware of businesses that require a person to recruit friends and relatives, and promise commissions to recruiters for finding new members.

Such pyramid operations are illegal in Maine.