One of the problem MLM scammers have when caught is that outside of the scam they were running, they had no other source of income.

In cases where an injunction is pursued and said scammers assets are frozen, that leaves them with limited options for hiring counsel.

Such is the case with Digital Altitude, Michael Force and Mary Dee, who together are demanding $100,000 to cover legal fees.

The FTC filed opposition to the motion on April 24th.

In their motion the FTC allege

on March 14, 2018, Defendants filed Answers to the Complaint, admitting most of the key facts alleged against them.

In depositions and at the PI hearing, Defendants effectively conceded that they had no basis for their claims to consumers.

The only issue Defendants have not expressly conceded is whether the Individual Defendants had knowledge sufficient to impose individual equitable monetary liability.

And even there, the sworn testimony that the Individual Defendants have already provided precludes any plausible claim of innocent ignorance.

Candidly, the FTC assert the Digital Altitude defendants have no right to defend themselves with “stolen funds”.

That is money Digital Altitude, Michael Force and Mary Dee stole from consumers, around $54 million as per the Receiver’s ongoing analysis.

Being a civil action, the FTC point out that none of the defendants have a right to taxpayer-funded counsel.

Thus the burden of retaining counsel and the associated costs rest entirely on the defendants.

If they can’t afford to pay lawyers because their only source of income for the past few years has been scamming people, so be it.

Considering so far only $2.2 million of the $54 million Digital Altitude scammed people out of has been recovered, one can only wonder where the rest went.

Maybe Force and Dee can ask some of Digital Altitude’s top-earning coaches for a loan?

Or not… clawbacks gonna be a bitch.

At the time of publication the motion for a $100,000 carve-out has yet to be ruled on.