A Westminster-based company accused of bilking customers attempting to get out of debt has been permanently barred from selling or advertising debt-relief services.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced Thursday that the Real Talk Network and David Allen Burke and Melodie Rose Burke, both 42, have agreed to pay $226,414.
The first $200,000 is for consumer restitution with the final $26,414 going to the attorney general’s consumer protection unit.
Real Talk Network ran infomercials on 630 KHOW, Christian talk station 94.7 KRKS and radio stations in California. The infomercials were presented as a program called “Get Real with Dave,” hosted by company president David Burke, according to the company’s website.
When Suthers sued the company last year, he alleged that Real Talk Network ran infomercials in which the network and its officers were suspected of telling consumers that they could get out of debt in a short period of time, pay off their mortgages in less than 10 years and “explode” their credit scores by following the company’s program.
The injunction does not prohibit the Burkes from employment in the financial services industry, which includes banks, credit unions, insurance companies and investment firms.
But it does bar them from selling, marketing or advertising debt consolidation, debt elimination, credit repair and debt settlement in an effort to obtain money from consumers.
The defendants said they entered into the settlement to avoid the expense of litigation. The settlement is not considered an admission of liability.
