The Washington State Attorney General has ordered a Seattle businessman to return as much as $7.75 million to the roughly 165,000 customers he victimized with his deceptive websites. Benjamin Rogovy’s website, Christian Prayer Center, and its sister site, Oracion Cristiana, charged customers anywhere from $9 to $35 for a CPC Pastor to pray for them, relying on their faith to trick them out of their money with false promises.
English and Spanish speakers who were desperately in need would pay for the service, unaware that Rogovy was taking advantage of them. The website was filled with glowing (and false) testimonials stating that Pastor John Carlson had delivered on astounding promises; a healthy baby, winning lottery tickets, even sending cancer into remission. The sad truth is, Pastor Carlson didn’t exist. Rogovy created him, along with other fictitious ministers who could assist in religious ceremonies and provide consultation, for a price.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson said that Rogovy’s business practices were “unfair and deceptive.” They were also in direct violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act.
“I believe in the power of prayer,” Ferguson said in a statement. “What I do not believe in and what I will not tolerate is unlawful businesses that prey upon people – taking advantage of their faith or their need for help – in order to make a quick buck.”
Some of Rogovy’s “clients” were further victimized when the website would direct them to unwittingly sign up for recurring monthly payments. The website referred to this service as “continued blessings” and in the end, totaled over 400,000 transactions with the initial payments.
Ferguson said that Rogovy’s deception wasn’t limited to prayer sites. He also bilked customers out of money with his so-called Consumer Complaint Agency. The website charged users $25 for the promise of advocating on their behalf against businesses they had complaints against. Instead it did little more than forward the complaints to the business and collect the money.
Anyone who paid for prayer services from either of Rogovy’s websites between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2015, is eligible for a full refund. Consumer Complaint Agency payments will also be refunded.
Featured image by Got Credit via Flickr under Creative Commons 2.0 license.
