Should Christians file lawsuits against other Christians? Radio finance expert endorsed company with deceptive business practices
By George C. Upper III, The Western Journal
Should Christians file lawsuits against other Christians? The Apostle Paul, writing in 1 Corinthians 6, obviously didn’t think so: “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?”
A group of 17 Dave Ramsey listeners apparently disagree — although, to be fair, their identity as Christians is far from clear.
The group, which Religion News Service described as “former followers of Dave Ramsey,” is seeking more than $150 million in damages from the Christian finance expert and syndicated radio host.
The suit arose out of Ramsey’s endorsement of Timeshare Exit Team, a Washington-based company that settled a lawsuit with the state attorney general’s office in 2021 over alleged deceptive business practices.
According to the suit, Ramsey received “as much as $30 million” over seven years to plug the company’s services through 2021.
“The lawsuit alleges that Ramsey, Timeshare Exit Team and Happy Hour Media Group, a marketing firm with ties to Brandon Reed, one of the founders of Timeshare Exit Team, violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act by defrauding customers, committed ‘negligent malpresentation’ and were guilty of ‘unjust enrichment’ and conspiracy,” RNS reported Thursday.
Ramsey stuck by Reed Hein & Associates LLC — the company that did business as Timeshare Exit Team — even as allegations of fraud began to surface, even going so far as to accuse “government officials, reporters and the timeshare industry” of conspiring against the company, according to the outlet.
“During the period Dave Ramsey was promoting Reed Hein’s scheme, customers referred to Reed Hein by Defendants paid Reed Hein in excess of $70 million in fees for timeshare ‘exit,’” according to the complaint, RNS reported. “Ramsey never returned any of the tens of millions of dollars Reed Hein and Happy Hour Media Group paid him from his own listeners’ hard-earned money.
“Instead, Ramsey has chosen to profit from his listeners’ money.”