IMergent settles with Texas

OREM -- E-commerce software company iMergent Inc. said Tuesday ithas reached a final settlement with the state of Texas overcomplaints by prospective iMergent customers.

The state's suit stemmed from complaints from participants inStoresOnline seminars for people interested in starting a business onthe Internet.

IMergent will pay $400,000 to refund certain Texas customers andreimburse the Texas attorney general's office $60,000 for legal fees.The company, however, will continue doing business in the state.

The company said in August it had forged a temporary agreementwith the attorney general's office.

IMergent was sued by Texas earlier this year for alleged deceptivebusiness practices through its subsidiary, StoresOnline.com, thatviolated Texas law. Customer complaints indicated that once peoplebought packages, "they are basically left with worthless softwarewhich does not work and for which they are asked to pay still moremoney for more assistance which is of little or no value."

"During the past eight months, the Texas attorney general's officehas diligently investigated and reviewed the company's businessrecords and workshop presentations, clarifying iMergent's businesspractices and our StoresOnline software platform with the people ofTexas," Jeffery Korn, vice president of legal affairs and generalcounsel of iMergent, said in a prepared statement.

"We have now closed all outstanding issues with the state ofTexas. IMergent will continue conducting business in Texas, ahistorically significant workshop location for our company, using thebusiness model and presentation that has been successful for thecompany for many years."

The $400,000 will be put in a refund pool. If the refund pool isnot exhausted by the claims of certain Texas customers and the$60,000 in legal fees, the remainder of the pool will be put into aneducational fund for the state.

IMergent said the settlement will not adversely affect the rangesof estimated, preliminary unaudited financial results.

The company's stock rose 11 cents Tuesday to close at $5.62 pershare. In the past year, the price has ranged from $2.87 to $26.50.