MontNews.com

Attorney General Tom Corbett reaches agreement with World Reserve Monetary Exchange over their advertising practices

HARRISBURG – Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced a settlement with two Canton, Ohio, based companies over alleged unclear and deceptive advertisements.

Corbett said that Universal Syndications, Inc., doing business as World Reserve Monetary Exchange and World Reserve Monetary Exchange, Inc. (collectively WRME), ran large, full-page advertisements in local newspapers throughout the state in late 2006 and 2007.

Corbett said that the ads touted millions of dollars of “surplus” cash was “up for grabs” and that consumers had a limited amount of time to claim a portion of the “public windfall.”

“These advertisements led people to believe that they could claim cash that was ‘up for grabs,’ but that was not the case at all,” Corbett said. “These ads were actually for uncut sheets of U.S. currency that the World Reserve Monetary Exchange bought from the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing and re-sold to the public.”

According to the agreement, the ads did not adequately disclose:

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The amount and denomination of currency that consumers would receive;
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That currency offered as “free” could only be obtained with the purchase of other items;
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That the time-sensitive nature of the ad was not national in scope; or
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That WRME was not affiliated with a government or banking entity.

According to the agreement, WRME will refund the purchase price to consumers who return their merchandise to WRME by Sept. 26, 2009.

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Under the agreement, WRME paid investigative costs of $38,000 and agreed that future advertisements will clearly disclose:
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That it is a private corporation not affiliated with the United States Government and that it is not a bank;
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That its ads are in fact advertisements;
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The denomination and amount of the advertised currency that is being offered for sale;
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The cost of merchandise that is being offered for sale and what must be purchased in order to obtain “free” items; and
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That limited-time offers may be available in other locations at other times.

Corbett said that consumers seeking refunds must notify WRME by returning their originally purchased merchandise to World Reserve Monetary Exchange, Inc., 3939 Everhard Road N.W., Canton, OH, 44709. The merchandise must be returned by Sept. 26, 2009, using a delivery method that requires WRME to acknowledge receipt or otherwise confirm delivery was made.