THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016
A job fair, and more
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Slippery
entrepreneur
known for
‘bumvertising’
By NATALIE ST. JOHN
EO Media Group
Jeff Ter Har/For The Daily Astorian
Hundreds of Clatsop County high school students on
Tuesday attended the second annual career and job fair
at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds. The event was or-
ganized by Clatsop Economic Development Resources
and WorkSource Northwest Oregon. See more photos
online at www.dailyastorian.com
Oregon State working
to contain possible
norovirus outbreak
Associated Press
&ORVALLIS — Oregon
State University of¿cials say
they are taking steps to con-
tain a possible norovirus out-
break after up to 60 students
fell ill with symptoms.
The
Gazette-Times
reported that test results are
not yet available to con¿rm
an outbreak, but of¿cials
say the nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea and fever symp-
toms are consistent with
norovirus. The university
said Tuesday it is working
with Benton &ounty health
of¿cials to prevent the
spread of the highly conta-
gious illness that began last
Wednesday.
Bill Emminger from the
county environmental health
division says the illness does
not appear to be connected
with any particular location
or food-service facility on
campus. Most of the students
affected have been residents
of the dorms.
Oregon State staff mem-
bers are sanitizing work areas
in the dorms and dining halls.
GO
ONLINE
www.dailyastorian.com
OLYMPIA, Wash. — A
decade ago, Seattle entrepreneur
Ben Rogovy made headlines for
inventing the controversial prac-
tice of “Bumvertising” — pay-
ing the homeless to advertise his
businesses. Now, he’s in trouble
for using shady business prac-
tices that affected people across
the country.
Rogovy, 32, used a “pay-
for-prayer” service and other
deceptive techniques to con as
many as 165,000 consumers
out of about $7.8 million dol-
lars, according to the Washing-
ton Attorney *eneral’s Of¿ce.
The Attorney General’s
Of¿ce recently shut down three
businesses belonging to Rogovy
and ordered him to pay back con-
sumers who fell for the scams.
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The Attorney General’s
Of¿ce says Rogovy used “sys-
tematic deception” to run the
for-pro¿t online “&hristian
Prayer &enter” and “&hristian
National &hurch.” Through
www.christianprayercenter.com
and the Spanish-language sis-
ter-site, www.oracioncristiana.
org, the prayer center charged
$9 to $35 to pray for patrons,
according to the state.
The prayer center claimed
the sites were run by “Pastor
-ohn &arlson.” Patrons of the
sites even received weekly inspi-
rational emails and other corre-
spondence from &arlson and a
“Pastor Eric Johnston.” Though
&arlson even had a LinkedIn
pro¿le, neither of these people
actually existed. According to
the Attorney General’s of¿ce,
the prayer center was actually
run by Rogovy’s employees and
contractors.
‘I believe in the power of
prayer. What I do not believe
in and what I will not tolerate
is unlawful businesses that
prey upon people.’
Bob Ferguson
attorney general, Washington state
Testimonials from ¿ctional
followers often included stock
photos, and “... claimed &P&
successfully prayed to avoid
home foreclosure, deliver a
healthy baby, win the lottery,
obtain negative results on an
HIV test and put cancer into
remission,” the state said.
Additionally, the Attorney
General’s Of¿ce found that peo-
ple who opted to receive “con-
tinued blessings” ended up get-
ting charged on a monthly basis
until they caught on and stopped
payments.
Between 2011 and 2015,
the &hristian Prayer &enter col-
lected more than $7 million
from 125,000 consumers, result-
ing in a total of over 400,000
transactions.
Rogovy used similar tactics
— including a ¿ctional “Pastor
Parker Robinson” — to run the
prayer center.
“I believe in the power of
prayer,” Attorney General Bob
Ferguson said in a press release.
“What I do not believe in and
what I will not tolerate is unlaw-
ful businesses that prey upon
people — taking advantage of
their faith or their need for help
— in order to make a quick
buck.”
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Another online business,
&onsumer &omplaint Agency,
promised to advocate on behalf
of customers who had bad
experiences with businesses.
Instead, the site charged up to
$25 “to do little more than pas-
sively forwarding complaints,”
the state said. The investigation
found that Rogovy used “of¿-
cial”-looking seals and lan-
guage to make customers think
the agency was a government
agency, and hinted that it could
provide legal assistance, even
though it did not employ any
attorneys.
Just like the churches, the
agency used made-up testimo-
nials and quotes. &onsumers
didn’t ¿nd out how much they’d
be charged until after they ¿led
their complaints. When people
asked for refunds, the agency
threatened them with fees and
legal penalties.
From 2011 to 2015, about
40,000 victims, including 1,000
Washingtonians,
purchased
this service for a total of over
$750,000.
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In 2005, Rogovy, then 22,
made national and international
headlines after he trademarked
the term “bumvertising.”
According to a Septem-
ber 2005 Seattle Post-Intelli-
gencer article, Rogovy is a Mer-
cer Island native who graduated
early from University of Wash-
ington with a degree in econom-
ics. After graduation, Rogovy
was trying to get Àedgling online
businesses off the ground, and
he couldn’t afford to advertise
them. He decided to ask home-
less people, who were asking for
handouts, to tape colored ads for
his businesses to their signs. He
paid them a few dollars, plus a
snack and a drink.
Rogovy, who sometimes
referred to the homeless as
“bums” and “beggars” received
both praise and harsh criticism
for his idea. Online articles and
state records show that Rogovy
has been involved in numer-
ous Washington businesses,
many of which were purely
Internet-based, and gave vague
descriptions of the services they
offered. Most are now defunct.
According to the Attorney
General’s Of¿ce, Rogovy’s
actions violate the state &on-
sumer Protection Act, which
forbids businesses from mak-
ing false claims, and the &har-
itable Solicitations Act, which
prohibits churches and charities
from using misleading or decep-
tive statements in any charitable
solicitation. In addition to reim-
bursing consumers, he will be
required to pay substantial attor-
ney fees and state penalties, and
will be subMect to larger ¿nes
if he does not comply with the
terms of his agreement.
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People who purchased ser-
vices from &hristian Prayer
Service or Oracion &ristiana
between July 1, 2011 and June
30, 2015 can receive a full
refund.
By Friday, all affected con-
sumers will receive an email
from &hristian Prayer &enter
alerting them about the oppor-
tunity to receive a refund. To be
eligible, consumers must ¿le a
complaint with the Washington
State Attorney General’s Of¿ce
by June 12
2016
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