Acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker may be in hot water over his hot tub-marketing days, according to reports based on newly released FOIA docs.
Bloomberg reports that Whitaker told an FTC investigator that he “never emailed or wrote to consumers” on behalf of World Patent Marketing (WPM), a company that was shut down this year for being a “scam” in the words of the FTC.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Bloomberg cites an official with the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection as writing on Oct. 24, 2017. “Matt Whitaker is now chief of staff to the Attorney General. Of the United States.”
Whitaker started receiving complaints from disgruntled customers in April 2015, the Washington Post reports.
Whitaker purportedly forwarded the complaints to WPM’s CEO, in one case writing: “Another WPM customer reaching out to me. FYI. I do not plan to call back unless you want me to.”
WPM was shut down in May by the FTC for allegedly charging customers thousands of dollars for marketing, distribution, and branding services for new inventions and then pocketing the money without living up to the agreements.
An email from the court case and reports since have suggested that Whitaker strong-armed customers who complained about the business.
“I am familiar with your background and your history with [WPM CEO] Scott [Cooper],” Whitaker wrote. “Understand that we take threats like this quite seriously.”
In one news release, Bloomberg reports, Whitaker is quoted as saying “World Patent Marketing has become a trusted partner to many investors that believe in the American Dream.”
