Misled FTC over actions at Miami firm

Whitaker appears to have misled FTC over actions at Miami firm

Greg Farrell, Andrew Martin and David Voreacos

New documents released by the Federal Trade Commission suggest that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker misled the agency's investigators as he was stepping into his role last year as Justice Department chief of staff.

After several attempts to reach Whitaker about the Miami company where he was on the advisory board, the FTC investigator emailed his colleagues to relay that he finally reached Whitaker, who was willing to cooperate and asserted that he "never emailed or wrote to consumers" in his consulting role.

That statement to James Evans of the FTC appears to be inaccurate. Whitaker had written a letter in 2015 to a disgruntled customer who planned to report the company, World Patent Marketing, to the Better Business Bureau. In the letter, which was included in the FTC's disclosure and reported previously by the news media, Whitaker threatened the customer, writing: "I am assuming you understand there could be serious civil and criminal consequences for you if that is in fact what you and your 'group' are doing."

In the letter, Whitaker noted that he was a former U.S. attorney in Iowa and that he was aware that the customer had complained to the company's chief executive officer, Scott Cooper, in the past. "I am familiar with your background and your history with Scott," Whitaker wrote. "Understand that we take threats like this quite seriously."

President Donald Trump appointed Whitaker acting attorney general after asking Jeff Sessions to step down. That appointment, outside the usual chain of succession, is now being challenged in several court cases.

The documents, produced Friday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, contain internal correspondence among FTC investigators, who are frustrated at being unable to reach Whitaker at several points during 2017.

They show repeated attempts by the FTC to contact Whitaker during 2017, when the agency was investigating complaints about World Patent Marketing, which it described as an "invention promotion scheme" that it accused of "bilking millions of dollars from consumers."

They also show how shocked the FTC investigators were in October 2017 when -- in the latter stages of their investigation -- Whitaker was suddenly named chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"You're not going to believe this," Evans, who works for the agency's Bureau of Consumer Protection, wrote on Oct. 24, 2017. "Matt Whitaker is now chief of staff to the Attorney General. Of the United States.

A key takeaway from the FTC documents is that World Patent Marketing continuously used Whitaker's background as a U.S. attorney to impress potential clients and bully perceived enemies.

On Nov. 21, 2014, soon after Whitaker joined the firm's advisory board, Cooper, the CEO, wrote an email to a brand building company with the subject line, "Let's build a Wikipedia page and use Whitaker to make it credible."

A 2017 script that was apparently used to woo clients notes the company's "incredible advisory board" that includes "former U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker who was appointed by George Bush." It later continues, "We even have famous physics professor named Ronald Mallett that is working on time travel and is on television all the time."

On May 18, 2015, Cooper emailed a web hosting company, informing it that a website called globalresourcebroker.com is "engaged in a smear campaign against my company." "I have prominent politicians that sit on my board of directors, including former United States Attorney and United States Senate Candidate Matthew G. Whitaker."

Whitaker joined the advisory board in October 2014. He was required to attend an annual meeting in Miami, provide guidance on regulatory issues and agree to social media endorsements. He was to be paid $1,875 each quarter."World Patent Marketing has become a trusted partner to many investors that believe in the American Dream," Whitaker is quoted as saying in a news release included with the FTC documents.

The next month, Cooper emailed Whitaker and asked if he would be interested in appearing in a television commercial for the company, to appear on CNN. Whitaker said he was interested and, when asked how much he would charge, responds, "What does a talent of my type usually demand?" It isn't known if the commercial was made or aired.

The following spring, Cooper invited Whitaker and his wife to Miami in May or June. "I'll take care of the entire thing as promised," Cooper writes. "First class all the way."

Whitaker was aware of some of the complaints filed against the company, since several customers contacted him directly. For instance, on Sept. 8, 2015, Whitaker forwarded Cooper an email that said, "Dear Matthew can you get a message to Scott Cooper you are on an advisory board but what you don't know is how many people were scammed by him and how fraudulent they are and how much money they robbed from people."

A few weeks earlier, another apparent customer wrote, "Do not email me again with your scare tactics. I am a former United States attorney for the southern district of Brooklyn New York. So stop with your bull **** emails. You are party too a scam that is driving allot of traffic to WPM site. You will be exposed."

Aside from the misspellings, the author appears to be exaggerating his own credentials: There is no such thing as a U.S. attorney for the "southern district of Brooklyn."