As a result of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida, a federal court has ordered so-called “trucking automation” company RivX to cease its operations over allegations the firm has scammed consumers out of millions of dollars with deceptive promises of trucking industry investment opportunities.

The complaint filed by the FTC and the Florida Office of Attorney General alleges that RivX, along with its owner Antonio Rivodo and company executive Noah Wooten, have used deceptive claims of guaranteed income to entice consumers to pay $75,000 dollars or more to buy trucks that they often never received.

“Defendants tricked consumers into paying tens of thousands of dollars each with false promises that they would operate a trucking business for the consumer,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Instead of receiving the lucrative returns promised by defendants, many consumers lost their life’s savings. The FTC will continue to aggressively pursue those who prey on consumers with bogus earnings claims.”

According to the complaint, RivX offered business opportunities in the trucking industry, claiming that after consumers pay $75,000 or more, RivX would purchase a semi-truck in the consumers’ name and operate it on their behalf, securing loads, drivers, and managing all the logistics for the consumer. In its advertising and marketing, RivX makes numerous claims about how much money consumers can supposedly earn from the scheme, but according to the complaint, very few consumers have ever received trucks, and none have been able to recoup their investment, much less make any profit.

RivX, Rivodo, and Wooten claim consumers can make “passive income” totaling $5,000 to $7,000 every month from their truck, and have regularly guaranteed that consumers will make back all their money plus more, with the consumers’ entire trucking “business” being set up in as little as 60 days. In numerous online videos cited in the complaint, Rivodo has made baseless claims about the ease with which consumers will make substantial profits, such as:

• “We are making sure that that truck is operating, it’s consistently bringing in income, it’s covering all the expenses and it’s also leaving that amazing passive income every single month.”
• “This is a literally done-for-you business model. You are literally going to lift as little as a finger as you have to… this truck will literally just become a passive income asset.”
• “We want to make sure the results that we create for you [are] passive… that money’s going to come in like mailbox money, coming in every single month.”

RivX has littered the internet, according to the complaint, with videos featuring Rivodo making false claims on social media and other sites of guaranteed income. When consumers reach out to RivX, they hear more false income claims from Rivodo and Wooten and even receive documentation saying that if they fail to make the promised profits, RivX will return their initial investment.

According to the complaint, RivX, Rivodo and Wooten have pocketed millions of dollars from consumers while failing to provide anything approaching the profits they promised. In addition, the company’s contracts include unlawful provisions that make consumers liable for as much as $100,000 every time they publicly complain about the company or leave a negative review online.

In response to the FTC and Florida’s court complaint, a federal court has issued a temporary restraining order that halts the company’s operations and freezes the assets of RivX, Rivodo, Wooten and several associated companies that are part of the RivX operation or have profited from the illegal scheme.

The complaint charges the defendants with violating the FTC Act, the FTC’s Business Opportunity Rule, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and the Consumer Review Fairness Act.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Commissioner Andrew Ferguson issued a statement.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.

The staff attorneys on this matter are Angeleque Linville and Harold Kirtz of the FTC’s Southeast Region.