pti patent trademark institute of america PTI Patent & Trademark Institute Of America, Inventors Helpline, Inventors Helpline.com, United Licensing They stole more than $10,000 from me too. The courts have agreed they are guilty. ROSLYN HEIGHTS, New York

My story is much like everyone else's. Paid the $795 initially, was swindled out of another $10,000. I feel so stupid and dejected for falling for this scheme but I wanted to believe the dream. It's ruined my credit just as I'm about to get married and have to bring my future wife into this mess.

The Federal Trade Commission has found PTI and it's owner Julien Gumpel guilty and will be mailing out checks. But we won't be getting near the amount back that we've all lost on this fraud of a company:

FTC Mails Redress Checks to Invention Promotion Scam Victims

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing more than 17,000 checks to amateur inventors defrauded by a group of swindlers who falsely promised to evaluate their ideas and help them earn substantial income from their inventions.

At FTCs request, in 2007 a federal court found Julian Gumpel, Darrell Mormando, Michael Fleisher, Greg Wilson, and the Patent & Trademark Institute in contempt for violating a 1998 court order that prohibited false claims for invention promotion services and ordered them to pay $60 million. The redress fund represents the defendants available assets. (See September 6, 2007 press release at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/09/inventionswindle.shtm)

Consumers who paid to have their ideas evaluated will receive $24.83; those who also paid for other services will receive $323.29.

Consumers who receive checks should cash them on or before August 31, 2010. Checks are being mailed by the redress administrator. Consumers with questions should call the administrator at 1-877-678-0735.

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTCs website at http://www.ftc.gov/ and from the FTCs Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.

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