Nevada investigating fraud claim against telemarketer

Grace Leong

Friday, July 26, 2002 | 11:16 a.m.

The Nevada Attorney General's office on Thursday asked a court for permission to immediately subpoena the financial records of FR and ST Inc. doing business as U.S. Health and Discount Services of Las Vegas and five of its managers.

The state said U.S. Health is being investigated because of suspicions it violated the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Telemarketing Act.

U.S. Health, which the state claims operates a boiler room at 1785 E. Sahara, Suite 400, purports to sell dental and health supplement programs that allegedly allow customers to save money on dental care, pharmacy, vision and chiropractic care.

The state Bureau of Consumer Protection, in Thursday's petition for a subpoena filed in Clark County District Court, said it is investigating complaints about the company from residents nationwide including Sandra Kay Carlson of New York, who accused U.S. Health of making false claims about its dental and health benefits programs and failing to make refunds.

The state said it wants the court to issue an order allowing Nevada State Bank and Wells Fargo Bank to withhold notice of their receipt of the subpoena to its customer, U.S. Health, for 60 days.

"The court may issue the order upon a showing that the (government) agency can reasonably infer from facts relevant to its investigation of (U.S. Health) that a law subject to the agency's jurisdiction has been or is about to be violated," the state said.

Carlson said she paid $598 for a U.S. Health medical and dental benefits program after being told by a U.S. Health telemarketer that these benefits could be used in conjunction with her primary insurance and that she had a 30-day money back guarantee if she wasn't satisfied with the program.

But Carlson, who attempted to use her benefits card at her dentist's office, was allegedly told her dentist wasn't a provider and had no interest in becoming a provider for U.S. Health or Uni-Care One, the company name that appears on the benefits card, the state said.

Carlson, who also could not use the benefits card at a local pharmacy, said the company billed her for the program on April 29 even after she had called on April 10 to cancel it and then gave her the run-around or hung up on her when she called about the cancellation and tried to get a refund.

U.S. Health had no immediate comment on the state's and Carlson's allegations.