Telemarketing company found guilty of lying to customers, and making a litanty of false claimsFederal Court slaps Artorios Ink Director and sales boss with fines of $50,000 each, after being found guilty of making a series of deceitful claims to customers.
Tuan Nguyen, the sole director of telemarketing company Artorios Ink, and Thuan Nguyen, sales manager, admitted deceiving customers to generate cartridge sales, and making calls to unsuspecting employees.
The Court found that, during 2011 and 2012, Artorios Ink engaged in conduct that was misleading, making a series of false claims to its business customers including: the business had agreed to purchase printer cartridges; that Artorios Ink was a regular supplier; that the company had instituted proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria against the business to obtain payment for printer cartridges.
The Court also found that Artorios Ink was sending demands for payments which the businesses never agreed to purchase.
The duo admitted to acting deliberately to mislead and are banned from managing or becoming a director of a corporation for five years.
The company is now in liquidation after ACCC initiated proceedings against it last year.
In her reasons for judgment, Justice Mortimer stated: “The conduct involved deceit of these businesses for the financial benefit of Artorios”.
Justice Mortimer also inferred that “there was a deliberate and calculated plan constructed to misrepresent to small businesses (through calls to unsuspecting employees or shop managers) some kind of existing supply relationship, then to take advantage of the misrepresentation to supply goods and then demand payment”.
“The most serious aspect of the conduct was its premeditated character, the implementation of a system of deceiving unsuspecting employees and owners of small businesses into believing that they had ordered printer cartridges and were obliged to pay for them.”
“These penalties send a warning to traders that dishonest business practices can result in substantial penalties being imposed.”
