AG warns residents about ‘misleading’ ad in newspaper
CARSON CITY - Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto issued a warning Friday to Nevada residents concerning what she called a misleading advertisement that appeared Aug. 29 in the Review-Journal.
The World Reserve Monetary Exchange ad said residents of 15 of the state's 17 counties could receive "vault bags" containing a "small fortune" of cash for a $149 payment. While the top of the full-page age said "special advertisement feature," Masto said the ad looked like a news article and that the product was not clearly shown. She contends the "small fortune" could be as small as $23.
"What is omitted from the ad is that the contents of these 'vault bags' do not necessarily meet or exceed the price paid for each bag," Masto said. "During tough economic times, it is troubling that people are fooled into believing misleading ads."
Masto said the Santa Cruz County, Calif., district attorney's office in January reached a $223,000 settlement with the World Reserve Monetary Exchange over deceptive ads that offered free gold coins. Some of the coins never had been minted, she added.
The Better Business Bureau has rated the company an F and logged 249 complaints, most for misleading advertisements.
