November 8, 2016--The Federal Trade Commission announced it will mail checks totaling more than $3.7 million to provide partial refunds to almost 300,000 former independent representatives of Fortune HiTech Marketing (FHTM), which was sued and shut down by the FTC and Kentucky state regulators in 2013. FHTM settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay for the partial refunds. The FTC said it may have additional funds to distribute after the resolution of other lawsuits against FHTM's highest earning representatives.

FHTM and its top two executives were sued by the FTC and the attorneys general of Kentucky, North Carolina and Illinois for "unfair and deceptive actions" that violated state and federal laws. Among the charges: misrepresenting income potential and claiming average people could attain financial independence through FHTM.

About 90% of FHTM independent representatives earned less than $15 a year, but they were expected to spend about $1,500 a year on products and membership fees, former Kentucky attorney general Jack Conway said in 2013.