Two former referring travel agents for YTB Travel Network launched a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, Ill., seeking more than $100 million in actual damages for themselves and others who invested in the YTB programs.
They claim they and the members of their class suffered financial losses because YTB International and its divisions operated an illegal pyramid scheme.
The lead plaintiffs are Faye Morrison of St. Louis and Kwame Thompson of Atlanta. One of their attorneys, Christian Montroy, said that because the lawsuit is so new, it is uncertain how many plaintiffs are in the class but “certainly more than 1,000.” He said two more plaintiffs will be added to the suit in the next week.
The lawsuit was filed Friday. The defendants are YTB International Inc. and its subsidiaries, YourTravelBiz.com, YTB Travel Network, Rezconnect Technologies and YTB Travel Network of Illinois. It also named company executives as follows: Lloyd Tomer and Scott Tomer, Kim Sorensen, Andrew Cauthen and Michael Brent. All but Brent are involved in YTB operations. Brent is CEO of Rezconnect Technologies.
In a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, YTB advised of the litigation and said it believed it “has meritorious defenses and intends to vigorously defend the case.”
In addition, YTB advised that it has withdrawn its application for listing on the American Stock Exchange and will reapply when it is “in a position to do so.” YTB currently trades over-the-counter stock on the OTC Bulletin Board.