A group legal case is to be launched against an online business guru from Northern Ireland who is alleged to have left more than 50 students on his programme in “financial ruin”.
Darren Campbell of the ‘FBA Brand Builder’, based in Ballymena, is the target of the civil action which claims multiple participants in his online course were left tens of thousands of pounds in debt after being encouraged to go “all in” regardless of financial profitability through his “brand building” programme.
The entrepreneur has denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
The FBA Brand Builder was established off the back of Mr Campbell’s own stated success using Fulfilled by Amazon, a system which allows entrepreneurs to set up a business and have Amazon take care of the logistics of packaging and delivering the products.
Prices to get on to the mentoring programme established by Mr Campbell start at £6,500, but some participants spoken to by The Irish News say they have been left in debt of more than £30,000 and one person said they lost their home.
The group legal action is being brought by Phoenix Law, who say they represent more than 50 former participants in the programme and are seeking others to come forward with evidence.
The legal action alleges that the programme misled participants, caused significant financial losses, and provided unethical and potentially unlawful advice to participants.
Allegations against the FBA Brand Builder include misleading claims of profitability and success, failure to disclose hidden costs of the programme, misrepresentation of expertise, deceptive practices and unqualified financial advice.
In the pre-action correspondence issued to Mr Campbell, it is claimed that he and the company “used fabricated or unverifiable client testimonials and failed to disclose the true financial commitments required”.
Allegations of improper financial advice in the claim include “advising clients to use credit cards without warning of associated risk” and “persistently encouraging further investments regardless of plaintiffs' financial situations”, as well as tax evasion.
Videos seen by The Irish News appear to show Mr Campbell encouraging clients to inflate their income on credit card applications and equating investing in their business to what they would do if their children were kidnapped.
The lead plaintiff in the case has claimed a loss of £30,000 as a result of the company’s actions and is seeking damages, while it’s understood 56 others have engaged with Phoenix Law as part of the group action.
The law firm says it will be bringing the case to the attention of the PSNI and the Financial Conduct Authority.
It’s understood the company has been brought to the attention of the PSNI previously, who said “no criminal offences” were identified.
A solicitor for Mr Campbell and the FBA Brand Builder told the Irish News that pre-action correspondence has been launched against their clients, but formal legal proceedings and any group action have not yet been issued.
The representative said the claims were “without merit and baseless”.
“Both Darren Campbell and The FBA Brand Builder denies the claims set out in Phoenix Law’s pre-action protocol letter and will robustly defend any proceedings should they be issued,” a statement said.
“The claims are without merit and baseless.”
