FTC Acts to Stop ‘Click Profit’ Online Business Opportunity that Has Cost Consumers At Least $14 Million

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court temporarily halted a business opportunity scheme known as Click Profit, which took millions from consumers by falsely promising consumers that they could earn big profits through online sales.

In a complaint, the FTC alleged that Click Profit and its owners deceived consumers by promising they could make large sums in “passive income” using a proprietary system powered by artificial intelligence. The system supposedly enables consumers to sell goods through online platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok. Click Profit also deceived consumers by claiming to be affiliated with major companies like Nike and Disney as a ploy to convince consumers to turn over tens of thousands of dollars each, according to the complaint.

“Click Profit misled consumers by falsely promising them guaranteed passive income using cutting-edge AI technology and exclusive brand partnerships,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Their deception caused individual consumers to lose tens of thousands of dollars while the Click Profit’s operators enriched themselves. The FTC is working to hold the defendants accountable and secure redress for their victims, who have collectively lost millions of dollars.”

In its ads, Click Profit, which also does business under the names FBALaunch, Automation Industries, and PortfolioLaunch, claimed that the business opportunity was “safe, secure, and proven to generate wealth,” and that consumers could expect profits outperforming traditional investments in ways that were consistent and predictable, according to the complaint.

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Consumers who purchased the company’s business opportunity were charged a “management fee” of at least $45,000, in addition to thousands of dollars more, purportedly to buy inventory for their stores. The complaint alleges that few of these consumers see a return on their investments, much less the promised earnings. In fact, most consumers lose their entire payments, and some are saddled with burdensome credit card debt and unsold products.

Click Profit’s online advertising on social media and search ads emphasized that consumers could expect to earn six-to-eight figure income from their online storefront. According to the complaint, co-founder Craig Emslie appeared in advertisements fanning himself with wads of cash to emphasize the point of how much money consumers could expect to make.

According to the complaint, Click Profit promoted alleged testimonials from customers who made huge profits. At the same time, the company’s ads claimed that it could guarantee such income, and even implied that consumers’ online store could be bought out by venture capital firms connected with the company “at a 3-6x multiple.”

The complaint highlights actual statistics on Click Profit’s stores, which are mainly on Amazon, showing that after Amazon’s fees, more than one-fifth of the company’s stores on the platform earn no money at all and another third earns less than $2,500 in gross lifetime sales. After factoring in Click Profit’s own startup fees, ongoing charges, and “profit share” fees, most consumers are never able to recoup the costs of starting a store, much less earn the profits promised by the company.

In addition, the complaint alleges that Click Profit often takes months to open consumers’ stores, and in some cases has not opened stores at all. Even when Click Profit does open a store for consumers, the complaint alleges, many of these online stores are blocked or suspended by the selling platform. According to the complaint, Amazon has blocked, suspended, or terminated about 95% of Click Profit’s stores. In instances where consumers’ stores begin to generate revenue, Click Profit pressures the consumers into using that revenue to buy additional inventory for their stores.

Consumers have often found the company unresponsive after making their initial payments and fails to respond to consumer complaints, according to the complaint. Most consumers only received refunds from Click Profit after complaining to outside organizations like the BBB or law enforcement. The complaint also alleges that in many instances, Click Profit would threaten customers who filed complaints with lawsuits, citing an unlawful non-disparagement clause in the company’s contracts.

The FTC’s complaint charges that Click Profit, its co-founders Emslie and Patrick McGeoghean, partners Jason Masri and William Holton, and a number of associated companies have violated the FTC Act, the Business Opportunity Rule, the Consumer Review Fairness Act, and the Rule On Impersonation of Government and Businesses.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 4-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The court entered the temporary restraining order against the company on March 5, 2025.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.

The staff attorneys on this matter are Lisa W. Bohl and James Davis of the FTC’s Midwest Region.