Twin Cities Couple Made $15M From Amazon Scheme: Feds

TWIN CITIES, MN — The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Minnesota are accusing a Twin Cities couple of making millions by running a "get-rich-with-Amazon scheme." A federal court temporarily halted their company, Sellers Playbook, pending resolution of the case.

New Hope-based Sellers Playbook is not affiliated with Amazon. The company sold a system that claimed to "perfect the individual's ability to sell on Amazon effectively and profitably" so they could acquire "their piece of the $400 Billion Amazon Pie," the complaint states.

Authorities allege Sellers Playbook lured consumers into buying its system by claiming purchasers were likely to earn thousands of dollars per month selling products on Amazon.

The company used false and unsubstantiated claims such as make "$20,000 a month" and "Potential Net Profit: $1,287,463.38," according to investigators.

Few, if any, consumers achieved these results, and most lost money, authorities said.

According to the FTC and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, owners Jessie Conners Tieva and Matthew Tieva took in more than $15 million from consumers from April 2017 to May 2018.

Many consumers paid them more than $32,000, investigators said.

The owners dispute the allegations, with Connors Tieva telling the Pioneer Press, "we have thousands of students who have been very successful."

Connors Tieva was a contestant on the first season of Donald Trump's "The Apprentice."

"There are some people out there who think they can get the world handed to them and not work for anything," she added.

Amazon provided the following statement to Patch regarding this case:

"The entrepreneurs and small businesses selling on Amazon are incredibly important to us and our customers, and we aggressively pursue those that attempt to harm their selling experience. We invest heavily to protect the integrity of our stores and take action to protect customers and sellers, including working with consumer protection agencies and law enforcement. We have zero tolerance for fraud and abuse and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement to pursue criminals."

The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota entered a temporary restraining order against the couple July 30. A preliminary injunction hearing is currently scheduled for Aug. 13.

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