The Income Store, a component of Today’s Growth Consultants, has been accused of engaging in securities fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Based in Minooka, Illinois, the company supposedly buys and builds websites with third party “Site Partners”. The Income Store allegedly first located an opportunity to build a revenue-generating website, and would then contact these third party “Site Partners”, who would invest in the company and fund the project. The Income Store would do all the work (building and continuing to manage the site), while these investors would gain a passive income. However, in December 2019, the Income Store purportedly notified some investors and stated that a temporary suspension of monthly payments would occur because of business issues.
The Rosca Scarlato LLC attorneys are currently working with several investors and reviewing their records related to this Income Store case. The firm is also presently being contacted by new investors involved.
The lawyers at Rosca Scarlato LLC are in advanced stages of their investigation and have already identified a number of potential recovery options for investors who believe that they have experienced loss as a result of the Income Store’s alleged actions. They are exploring those potential recovery options to determine whether they may be able to assist Income Store investors.
The firm is continuing to work to collect any and all additional records to further investigate the case, as well as to further explore recovery options. Firm lawyers would like to talk with any investors who are willing to cooperate, or who have any questions about this Income Store case. Those with useful information or questions about their potential loss recovery options may contact attorney Alan Rosca or his colleagues Paul Scarlato and Chris Pfeiffer for a free, no-obligation discussion. Call 888-998-0530 or email arosca@rscounsel.law to learn more.
Today’s Growth Consultants DBA Income Store Ongoing Investigation
The Income Store committed security fraud, which came to light when they allegedly stated they could not make their monthly payments to investors late last year, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The contract between the company and its investors appears to be an investment contract.
“An investment contract is a well-known type of security,” said attorney Alan Rosca, a partner at Rosca Scarlato and an adjunct professor of securities regulation. “When a company offers to investor an investment of money in a common enterprise with profits to be derived chiefly through the efforts of others, it typically engages in a securities offering,” said attorney Rosca. “Securities offerings are highly regulated events that must be either registered with the regulators or must qualify for an exemption,” said attorney Rosca. “Our investigation shows that the Income Store’s offering was neither registered nor exempt from registration,” said attorney Rosca.
In the United States, the law states that all securities need to be registered with the SEC, or they need to meet requirements to become exempt from registration. Today’s Growth Consultants DBA Income Store faces potential complications, as the company did not register securities with the SEC. These securities were also apparently not offered in a manner to where they didn’t need to be registered. Therefore, it appears that the Income Store needed these security registrations, yet didn’t possess them.
The Income Store also seems to not have been registered as a franchise or business opportunity. This registration may also have been required.
Because of this apparent lack of registrations, Today’s Growth Consultants DBA Income Store is alleged to have offered unregistered securities to unknowing investors. Similar to other cases of pyramid schemes, the Income Store supposedly offered investors a return on their investments and an ability for them to make a passive income, yet didn’t deliver.
Then, in December 2019, they purportedly announced a moratorium of payments.
The Income Store’s website is currently offline and all business practices have come to a halt, as the SEC has filed a complaint against the company. In their filing, the SEC stated that the company allegedly ran a Ponzi like scheme for a long time.
Prior to this incident, the Income Store reportedly raised at least $75 million from investors, who were all guaranteed a result after investment. The company allegedly promised about 500 investors a 50% share of website revenue, yet were unable to meet this promise. The SEC states that their business model was unsuccessful, as the websites they created did not make the amount of revenue that they had initially anticipated. The company also seemingly promised investors investment returns monthly, though this ended up not succeeding.
Finally, it is important to note that, as of the date of this article, there has not been a finding of liability as to the complaints or allegations mentioned in this article, unless otherwise indicated. Any reader should also read the original sources hyperlinked in this blog for accuracy, including any BrokerCheck report and/or record of any disciplinary or regulatory action. Those sources are incorporated by reference into the text of this blog, and are the governing materials in case of any inconsistencies or typos in this blog.
Investment Attorneys Investigating Now
The Rosca Scarlato LLC investment fraud lawyers represent investors who lose money as a result of broker misconduct or fraud. Currently, our attorneys are investigating Today’s Growth Consultants DBA Income Store alleged case. The firm takes most cases of this kind on a contingency fee basis and advance the case costs; payments for their fees and costs only come out of money recovered for clients.
A securities lawyer and adjunct professor of securities regulation, attorney Alan Rosca has represented thousands of victimized investors, both in the United States and around the world, in cases ranging from arbitrations to class actions.
Investors who believe they may have experienced loss as a result of the Income Store’s actions may contact attorney Alan Rosca for a free, no-obligation evaluation of their recovery options. Investors can call 888-998-0530, email arosca@rscounsel.law, or use the contact form on this webpage to get in touch.