Coordinated crack down on scam artists

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. government cracked down Tuesday on dozens of scams involving vending machines, work-at-home schemes, medical billing and envelope-stuffing.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said that a coordinated push, dubbed Project Biz Opp Flop, leveled charges in state and federal courts against more than 200 allegedly questionable operations in 14 states, CNN reported.

"In the FTC's 16 cases alone, tens of thousands of consumers collectively lost over $100 million," Majoras said during a news conference in Washington.

Despite some consumers being bilked out of up to $15,000 for business ventures such as automated teller machines, officials said that often when scam artists are caught, the money has already been spent on expanding the business or illicit activities.