If being sued by giant Google Inc. wasn't enough, embattled Pacific WebWorks Inc. is facing four proposed class-action lawsuits alleging it defrauded consumers.
The lawsuits, three of them filed after Google sued in federal court in Utah on Dec. 7, all accuse the small Salt Lake company of illegally making Internet offers that say consumers can earn hundreds of dollars a day working at home using Google. But after paying $2 or less in fees for the program, buyers' credit cards or debit cards are charged as much as $79.90 a month.
A new suit in Utah and others in Washington, California and Illinois contend the charges violate state and federal consumer laws because the additional monthly fees are not clearly stated in purchase agreements or not mentioned at all on Web sites.
Apparently in response to the Google lawsuit, which says the company inappropriately traded on the Internet giant's name, Pacific WebWorks has taken down its Web site, www.pacificwebworks.com. A message says, "Our [Web site] is currently under construction. Please check back early 2010."
Officials for Google and Pacific WebWorks have said they are negotiating a settlement of that lawsuit.
Neither Pacific WebWorks representatives nor its attorneys responded to a phone message and e-mail Wednesday asking why the Web site was taken down and seeking a response to the new lawsuits.
In court documents, CEO Kenneth Bell said the company was facing the loss of $1.4 million a month if injunctions requested in two of the suits to take down its Internet advertising are granted. For 2008, Pacific WebWorks reported $9.22 million in net revenue.
The lawsuit filed in Utah by West Jordan attorney Jeremy Eveland suggests Pacific WebWorks' business model "relies upon this same pattern of fraudulent Internet offers."
He did not return a phone call seeking additional comments.
The Utah lawsuit, filed on behalf of Song Que Hahn of Carmichael, Calif., names as defendants The Quad Group LLC, which is housed at the same address as Pacific WebWorks; Bell; Pacific WebWorks President Christian R. Larsen; CFO Robert Brett Bell; and a number of unknown people or entities that assist the company in the alleged fraud.
The four suits seek class-action status, meaning attorneys hope to represent all Pacific WebWorks customers who were allegedly defrauded by the company.
Shares of Pacific Webworks fell slightly Wednesday, closing the day in over-the-counter trading at 6.3 cents.
