We see registered trademark symbols everywhere we look, on storefronts and on food packaging. Every recognizable brand logo or business name probably has a trademark that someone at the company registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If they had not done this, everyone would copy the brilliant idea, and it would lose its originality, to the financial detriment of the person who originally thought of it. When you own a trademark, whether it is a brand name, a product name, a logo, or an advertising slogan, if someone uses it without your permission, causing you to lose money, you have the right to file a trademark infringement lawsuit in civil court. Usually, trademark infringement lawsuits are the most serious consequence of unauthorized use of a trademark. In other words, the issue is that the business that owns the trademark lost money because someone else used the trademark without permission. When customers lose money because someone misuses a trademark to mislead the customers into believing that they are dealing with the company that owns the trademark, criminal charges for fraud can result.
If you are facing criminal charges for using someone else’s registered trademark to defraud customers, contact a Texas white collar crime lawyer.
Franchise Owner Accused of Using Parent Company’s Trademarked Slogan to Defraud Investors
Until a few years ago, you probably saw the slogan “We buy ugly houses” plastered everywhere, from public benches to city buses to billboards. You might not have even known the name of the company that it belonged to, since buying ugly houses was so central to its brand identity. It belonged to HomeVestors, a company that would buy houses from homeowners who needed to sell them quickly, renovate them, and sell them to new buyers at a higher price. HomeVestors operated on a franchise model.
The owner of a HomeVestors franchise faced criminal charges several years ago for using the “We buy ugly houses” slogan fraudulently. He allegedly made investors believe that they were investing in his house flipping business, but prosecutors claim that he was using some of the money for personal purchases and the rest to pay earlier investors. It had the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, except that it continued longer than Ponzi schemes typically last before anyone got suspicious. It was only in 2018 that the defendant began to fall behind on payments to investors.
Police only became suspicious after journalists began to report on other deceptive activities going on under the HomeVestors name. Prosecutors allege that hundreds of investors lost a total of $40 million by investing their money pursuant to the defendant’s misrepresentations. The state dropped all of his charges except one after he agreed to pay restitution to the investors.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you fight financial crime charges for financial crimes related to house flipping or real estate investments. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC in Dallas, Texas to discuss your case.