Consumers have lost $50 million to the scheme, the feds charge
of ConsumerAffairsA federal court has temporarily shut down the operations of Growth Cave, a business opportunity and credit repair scheme accused of defrauding consumers out of $50 million. The decision comes after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against the company and its executives, alleging deceptive practices and false income promises.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, names Growth Caves founder Lucas Lee-Tyson, along with Osmany Batte, also known as Ozzie Blessed, and Jordan Marksberry, as key figures in the scheme. The FTC claims they misled consumers into purchasing expensive programs with guarantees of earning thousands of dollars, only to leave them with empty promises and mounting debt.
The FTC has its eye on business opportunity schemes like this one and will take decisive action to stop them, said Chris Mufarrige, Director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection.
False promises, lavish lifestyles
Growth Caves primary business model revolved around selling a program called Knowledge Business Accelerator (KBA), which was promoted through YouTube ads. The program falsely claimed that consumers could earn between$20,000 and $50,000 in passive incomeby developing and selling digital education courses, the FTC said.
In promotional videos, Lee-Tyson portrayed himself as a marketing expert and self-made millionaire, while Batte claimed to have expertise in mindset coaching and hypnosis.
According to the FTCs complaint, Lee-Tyson and Batte used videos showcasing luxury lifestyles to convince potential buyers of their programs success. However, the agency alleges that these lavish displays werefunded by the money they took from unsuspecting consumers.
A costly investment with no returns
Consumers who expressed interest in KBA were subjected to aggressive email marketing and sales tactics, culminating in astrategy callwhere they were pressured to invest thousands of dollars in the program. Growth Cave evenoffered a $10,000 profit guarantee, leading many to believe their investment was safe.
However, once consumers purchased KBA, theystruggled to receive the promised supportand were left with generic advertising scripts requiring substantial revision. Many also facedundisclosed requirementsbefore launching their courses, only to find that they could not generate any income.
The company also sold anupgraded versionof KBA, calledDigital Freedom Mastermind (DFM),for an additional$30,000 to $50,000, claiming it would provide a fully automated business solution. Consumers who purchased the upgrade reported thatthe promised services were never delivered.
The complaint also highlights another Growth Cave venture,Cashflow Consultant Academy (CCA),which falsely promised to connect participants with wealthy business owners for high-paying sales jobs. Instead, many found themselvesworking for other Growth Cave customersor were never placed with a client at all.
In 2023, Growth Cave launchedBuffalo Bridge, a bogus credit repair service charging consumers$6,800 upfrontfor supposed credit repair and business loan services. Instead, the companysimply signed consumers up for multiple business credit cards.
Rebranding and new schemes
Despite facing private lawsuits from defrauded consumers, the FTC alleges that Lee-Tyson and Batte continued to launch new scams under different names. In March 2024, Lee-Tyson introducedPassiveApps, an AI-powered business opportunity that followed the same deceptive blueprint as KBAeven using recycled testimonials from past schemes.Meanwhile, Batte launchedApexMind, mirroring the CCA scheme.
Consumers who have fallen victim to similar scams are encouraged to report fraud atReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Posted: 2025-03-07 19:34:57
