The number of Utahns saying they were bilked by the 12DailyPro Internet scheme has grown to more than 8,400.
Utah Consumer Protection Director Francine Giani said most of the Utah complaints to her office have been made since the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that it has sued the Web site and its owner, Charis Johnson of Charlotte, N.C.
"Up until two weeks ago, we had received one complaint," Giani said Wednesday. "What probably happened is a lot of folks thought, 'If I don't say anything, I'll get taken care of.' With the charges filed, that has changed. The complaints have been pouring in."
Giani said 12DailyPro's pattern in Utah seemed to wind through the state's typically large, close-knit families. "By and large, it has been family members who have gotten hooked and then got other family members involved."
The SEC has described 12DailyPro as a Ponzi or pyramid scheme, in which early investors receive high returns from money conned from subsequent investors rather than from real business revenue.
"A pyramid scheme just offers memberships, no products or service, just money," Giani said.
"People who got money at the beginning (of 12DailyPro) are fat and happy, but a lot of the people underneath never got their money back," she said.
Prosecutors said that 12DailyPro had promised that in exchange for buying $6 units, up to a maximum of $6,000 worth, investors could expect a 144 percent return within 12 days simply for using an application to automatically click on, or autosurf, a dozen Internet advertisements daily.
The SEC complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles alleges Johnson ran a $50 million scam involving more than 300,000 investors, pulling in nearly $2 million for herself.
The SEC said Johnson, without admitting guilt, had agreed to a tentative settlement in which she promises to stop recruiting new members.
The deal also freezes her assets and calls for the government to appoint a receiver to monitor Johnson's company and distribute whatever refunds are eventually approved.
In late January, 12DailyPro began to collapse after the online payment service StormPay halted processing payments for the site. StormPay, which is under investigation by Tennessee authorities, said it took the action after learning 12DailyPro had come under suspicion as a scam.
StormPay's assets also are targeted by the SEC.
Derek Dodge, a Salt Lake City mortgage broker, said he and a partner lost $2,300 in 12DailyPro.
"We were leery of this for a long time because Utah has always been notorious for scams," he said. "And then we finally got in, but apparently at the wrong time (to make money.)"