Court Orders Stuntman’s Son To Stop Telemarketing Kelly Knievel Must Repay Consumers About $150,000

Tue., June 13, 1995

Associated Press

A son of stuntman Evel Knievel has been ordered to halt his telemarketing business in Washington and to repay consumers, state Attorney General Christine Gregoire said Monday.

Gregoire said King County Superior Court issued the order against Kelly Knievel and his Las Vegas company, Western Express Service.

The Washington state attorney general’s office led a multi-state action against Western Express. The office filed suit last March, alleging consumers were pressured into buying products for thousands of dollars with the promise of winning a grand prize.

Consumers in Washington, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Texas will share about $150,000 in restitution ordered by the King County court.

The state’s lawsuit said high-pressure calls from the telemarketing company would target senior citizens and promise them big prizes, such as a car, if they would send in money for trinkets worth far less than the money they sent. The products included baseball hats, key chains, pins and address books; the prizes included inexpensive carpets, radar detectors, watches and frame coins.

An Everett man who was told he had won a Ford Escort ended up getting a $15 barbecue and some consumers sent in nearly $3,000 for products that were supposed to ensure that they won a big prize, Gregoire said.

“This company played on the vulnerabilities of our senior citizens,” she said.

Her office received almost 60 consumer complaints on this one company, she said. A call to the company on Monday was answered by a machine recording that said it was after business hours.

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