So, you might have heard that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently took action against Kevin David and his business partner David Arnett, as well as their company DK Automation. It turns out that they’ve been running some pretty shady schemes for quite some time now, tricking people into buying into their expensive money-making programs.
Basically, they were offering things like “done-for-you” Amazon stores, business coaching, and even crypto investments – all for a hefty price tag. Kevin was promising passive income for those who shelled out tens of thousands of dollars, with little to no effort required on their part.
But here’s the thing: it was all a big scam.
As someone who’s been following this whole mess, I want to share with you what I’ve learned. In this review, I’m going to break down the details of Kevin David’s scheme and how the FTC finally put a stop to it. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this.
Table of Contents
How did Federal Trade Commission take action against Kevin David?
On November 16, the FTC made an announcement that they had taken action against Kevin David, a YouTube scammer who promoted schemes related to Amazon FBA and cryptocurrency. The scammer’s actual name is Kevin David Hulse, but he used his first two names online and on YouTube. The FTC fined him $2.6 million, which was down from the total monetary judgment of $53 million that was partially suspended due to an “inability to pay.” So basically, Kevin David is now broke. If the FTC discovers he has more money, the entire $53 million fine will be reinstated.
Another YouTuber, Scott Shafer, pointed out in his video about the Kevin David scams that other YouTubers like Graham Stephan, Meet Kevin, and Shelby Church previously promoted Kevin David in their own videos. Scott stated in his YouTube video that these other YouTubers still have their Kevin David promotions up on their YouTube sites.
According to the FTC, Kevin David and his company, DK Automation, made multiple claims about the supposed huge profits consumers could make with their programs, using testimonials that did not reflect the experience of any consumer in the FTC’s investigation. They also manipulated online reviews by falsifying positive reviews and flagging negative reviews that resulted in their removal.
Additionally, the company agreed to provide refunds to consumers on the condition they remove their complaints. The FTC also charged that the defendants threatened to sue a dissatisfied consumer who spoke about his negative experience with the company and added language to their contracts to prevent consumers from leaving negative reviews.
In summary, the FTC has shut down Kevin David for his fraudulent activities and fined him $2.6 million. Other YouTubers, who promoted Kevin David, have not taken down their Kevin David promotions. Amazon FBA, which involves selling products online with Amazon, can be promoted by YouTube scammers, and the FTC is taking a stand against this type of fraudulent activity. You can read the full article here.
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What’s the enforcement?
Kevin David has been fined $2.6 million by the FTC for making deceptive claims about the potential earnings of his money-making schemes. In the future, if he decides to return to YouTube, he will need to have written evidence to support any income claims he makes. He is also prohibited from misleading customers about his goods and services, and must stop interfering with reviews or complaints.
This ruling could affect other YouTubers who push money-making schemes, as they may also be required to provide written evidence of their claims. It’s a shocking turn of events for those who have fallen for these types of schemes. If you suspect that you have been scammed by Kevin David or any other YouTuber, you can contact the FTC to be put on the refund list.
To make sure you are not a victim of a similar scheme, be wary of any get-rich-quick promises, and always do your research before investing any money. If you have information about a guaranteed money-making scheme, you can report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
How did Kevin David’s phony scheme work?
Kevin David has been involved in different opportunities in the past, but his latest scheme, the AMZDFY (Amazon done-for-you service), is now being questioned due to fraudulent practices. Here are three ways how this fraud scheme works.
1. They take 30% of profits
With Kevin and David’s Amazon FBA business, they will create and run the business for you. However, they will take a huge cut from your sales. Aside from paying them $40,000+, they will also take 30% of the profits from all sales.
You might be wondering why they don’t just sell the products themselves. The answer is that Amazon only allows two accounts per person. The two owners of AMZDFY can only target four different markets, so by signing up with them, you give them a new account to use to sell different products.
2. You assume all risk
Another thing you need to understand is that you will be assuming all the risks involved in this scheme. You will be storing your products in Kevin and David’s warehouse, which won’t cost them anything extra. You will be the one paying for the products, and if the products don’t sell, you’re the one who loses money, not them. And if things are successful, they take 30% of the sales.
Selling on Amazon already has thin margins, and losing 30% of sales is a significant hit. Of course, if you use Amazon’s warehouses, that would cost you too, but it would come out to less than 30% of overall sales.
3. Deceptive sales tactic
One blogger had a phone call with Kevin’s salespeople, which revealed a deceptive sales tactic. When asked what products Kevin would choose for his business, the salesperson replied, “Products that sell.”
The salesperson also mentioned that Kevin automatically charges your credit card when he picks your products, and you don’t get to choose when he charges your card. When the blogger asked how much the products would cost, what the cost per unit was, and what each would sell for, the salesperson skirted the answer, saying, “That’s not important. What’s important is your monthly profit, and we’re providing a conservative ROI of 14.5%.”
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Why is Kevin David’s sales practice deemed illegal?
1. Deceptive claims about earnings
One of the key violations is that DK Automation misled consumers about the potential earnings they could make through their programs. The company used testimonials that did not reflect the experience of any consumer in the FTC’s investigation, and even when they included disclaimers, they were often in small print or removed from the claims, making them useless to consumers.
2. Suppressing negative reviews
Another issue is that DK Automation manipulated online reviews by falsifying positive reviews and removing negative reviews. They even threatened to sue a dissatisfied customer who spoke about their negative experience with the company and added language to their contracts to prevent consumers from leaving negative reviews. In some cases, they provided refunds to consumers on the condition they removed their complaints.
3. Lack of required disclosures
Lastly, the defendants failed to provide consumers with the required disclosures that are mandated by the FTC’s Business Opportunity Rule. These disclosures are meant to provide key information about the opportunity being sold to help consumers make an informed decision.
Is there a legit way to make money online?
If you’re new to online business, you might wonder if there’s a legit business model that doesn’t need initial capital like Amazon FBA and can do it as a side hustle.
Of all the business models I’ve tried, affiliate marketing is the easiest and most rewarding so far.
In affiliate marketing, you can run your business at almost zero cost. Most importantly, you don’t need to invest in creating and developing any products.
Also, it is less time-consuming since you don’t have to manage inventory or handle customer service.
You can enjoy a steady stream of passive income while going on vacation or working a full-time job.
Since the world is full of uncertainty, I’d always choose a business model that has the lowest risk.
But How Much Can You Earn in Affiliate Marketing?
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I purchased Kevin David’s Done For You e-commerce program. His team did not do anything that was promised so I requested a refund and was denied. Kevin David explained how his expert team would run the store for us but unfortunately the team was not experts and did not deliver on any of their promises.
I’m guessing this was because Kevin was busy working on other projects and was not directly involved in the day-to-day. I’ve followed Kevin for years and he works with several big-name influencers that I know, so my guess is that the refund request did not make it to his attention otherwise it would not make sense to take my money without providing the service. Hopefully, someone from Kevin’s team sees this and reaches out. This program was thousands of dollars and I did not get what was offered by Kevin David.
Unfortunately he had his employees fooled as well. I worked for him for a year and only realized it was a clusterf$k.
No organization what so ever. When I started to catch onto the shadiness, they fired me without any warning. They didn’t even tell me. I found out by not being able to login.
Horrible place to work and nothing but lies.