116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Telemarketer sued over ‘blatant lies’ to Iowans
Steven R. Reed
Jun. 4, 2011 9:15 am
“Jeff” told the Iowa woman he just needed a little help getting from Phoenix to California, where a guide dog was waiting.
Representing himself as a member of Americans With Disabilities and originally from Dubuque, Jeff said he needed the dog because he'd gone blind after being exposed to Agent Orange while he was serving in Vietnam from 1971 to 1975.
Did the Iowa senior remember him mentioning his daughter, the one with cystic fibrosis, when he called in 2009? Well, she died last Thanksgiving Day.
With the heart-wrenching script recited, Jeff moved to close the sale.
For just $45.95, he could send two tins of cookies to the woman's Des Moines home and be on his way to California to pick up his guide dog.
According to a lawsuit filed Friday by Attorney General Tom Miller, the only truth in any of Jeff's claims is that his first name actually is Jeff.
In responding to a subpoena, Jeff Balke, 52, the presumed telemarketer whose “blatant lies” were recorded by the Attorney General's Office during an undercover telephone trap on March 8, admitted he is not blind, did not serve in Vietnam, has three children with no health problems, and is not a native Iowan.
Balke “knew his lies would stir up emotion and likely raise his income,” Miller said in a news release. “What he didn't know is that we were recording his phone call.”
Defendants in the lawsuit filed in Polk County District Court and alleging consumer fraud are Balke, Americans With Disabilities, which is a for-profit Arizona corporation, and Dale R. Seick, owner and manager of the company.
In written answers provided last month, Balke said he is 52 and did serve almost 11 years in the military, dividing his time between the Army, as a military policeman, and the Navy, as a yeoman. He said he had worked with Americans With Disabilities since August 2006 but is not disabled, though he “need(s) glasses.”
The lawsuit includes a copy of a sales insert from Americans With Disabilities in which the company claims to make “a special effort to enable handicapped or otherwise disadvantaged workers” by paying “a great percentage” of sales proceeds to workers who “have had trouble in obtaining employment in the mainstream workforce.”
A judge granted the attorney general's request for a temporary injunction to prevent the defendants from engaging in deceptive practices. The lawsuit asks for civil penalties of up to $40,000 for each violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, and enhanced penalties of $5,000 for each Consumer Fraud Act violation committed against an older person.
At a news conference, Miller said although the case involves a for-profit company, it is typical of some telemarketing practices conducted on behalf of charitable organizations by out-of-state solicitors.
An investigative report published last month by The Gazette found Iowa charities that use outside telemarketers received an average of only 22 cents of each $1 raised.
When Iowans receive calls soliciting donations for charitable organizations and non-profits, they should ask the caller how much the fundraising organization receives, Miller said.
“That helps weed out problems,” he said. “Iowans are very caring people, very giving people. We don't want them being taken advantage of.”
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