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Whatever
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An update on past news

Wednesday, April 11, 2001

Question: What ever happened to the Equinox International Corp. lawsuit in Hawaii? I read that Equinox was in Hawaii under another marketing name, and Hawaii is one of the states involved in recovering money for refunds for the people scammed. We would like to know the latest information on this case.

Answer: At this time, "it's really in a holding pattern," said Patricia Moy, senior enforcement attorney for the business registration division of the state Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs.

Las Vegas-based Equinox and its founder, Bill Gould, were accused by the Federal Trade Commission, Hawaii and five other states of running a pyramid scheme that cheated customers out of an estimated $200 million.

Under a settlement reached last April, Equinox ceased operations, and an independent receiver was appointed to oversee its financial obligations. The receiver, Robb Evans, was directed to liquidate certain assets and to formulate a plan for distribution of the assets to certain consumers.

More than 69,000 customers have filed claims seeking compensation from Equinox.

Evans, in a message dated March 2 and posted on the Web site of now-defunct Equinox, said the claims are being reviewed, and "it will still be some time before a distribution of funds will be made." Moy backed that assessment.

Founded in 1991, Equinox sold water and air filtration systems, personal-care products, household cleaners and cosmetics through independent sales representatives.

What made it illegal, officials said, was that participants were to make their money by recruiting other distributors, not by actual product sales.

Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and South Carolina were the other states involved in the litigation.

Moy said the DCCA was unaware whether Equinox had begun operating under another name.



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