Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Parker Wilde was ordered by a Utah court to pay $7.9 million for running a fraudulent Amazon business scheme.
- The order prohibits Wilde from telemarketing or offering business opportunities in Utah.
- A Division of Consumer Protection investigation found no consumer received the promised profits or full refunds offered by Wilde.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's 4th District Court ordered Parker Wilde to pay a monetary judgment of up to $7.9 million on Thursday, 10 months after the Utah Division of Consumer Protection filed a complaint against him, alleging he scammed hundreds of people out of millions of dollars.
From 2020 to 2023, Wilde, a Utah resident and Brigham Young University graduate, sold a fraudulent business that promised consumers passive income through automated Amazon store business opportunities. Consumers would pay him an up-front "consulting fee" between $5,000 and $20,000, plus an "inventory cost" of $7,000 to $10,000 for each product type sold on the Amazon store, according to the original complaint filed by the division in February.
Along with the monetary judgment, the court order permanently prohibits Wilde from participating in any money-making schemes, engaging in telemarketing or offering any business opportunities for sale within the state of Utah.
"This is a monumental win for the division and, more importantly, for the consumers Parker Wilde deceived," Division of Consumer Protection Director Katherine Hass said in a statement. "The substantial award sends a clear warning to anyone considering similar deceptive practices in Utah. We will hold those who violate the trust of Utahns fully accountable."
With their up-front investments, Wilde promised consumers $2,500 to $7,200 and more in monthly passive profit after 60 days, a full refund of initial payments if the store was not profitable within the first 12 months, and that his team would manage and run the store entirely, the complaint said.
The division's two-year investigation revealed that many consumers never received a functioning Amazon store or had their products launched. The division also hasn't identified a single consumer for whom Wilde established a profitable Amazon store, and none of the complainants received a full refund, despite Wilde's claimed money-back guarantee.
Additionally, many complainants reported Wilde made unauthorized purchases with their credit cards, with bank records indicating he used most of the consumers' funds to buy cryptocurrency for himself and to pay off his own credit card debt, according to the division.
Wilde did not respond to KSL's request for comment.
