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Dave Ramsey gives Bible-based financial advice on his radio show.The Ramsey Show / YouTube
Dave Ramsey is facing a $150 million lawsuit from listeners over his promotion of a timeshare exit group.
Reed Hein offered to get paying customers out of timeshare deals, but often failed to do so.
Lawyers say Ramsey was paid $30 million to promote Reed Hein over six years.
Christian radio host Dave Ramsey is facing a $150 million lawsuit from 17 listeners alleging he played a role in defrauding them by advertising a timeshare exit company.
The lawsuitfiled in April against Ramsey and marketing firm Happy Hour Media Group in Washington Western District Court, it argued that the radio host promoted Timeshare Exit Team to the detriment of its listeners.
The suit was first reported by Religious News Service.
Ramsey gives financial advice to millions of listeners on his radio show using teachings from the Bible. Listeners will call to seek advice on managing their finances, with a couple in May seeking help for their $760,000 debt.
The lawsuit stated that Ramsey had paid millions to advertise Timeshare Exit Team, operated by Reed Hein & Associates of Kirkland, Washington. Lawyers say Ramsey received $450,000 a month from Reed Hein for his services, a total of $30 million.
Reed Hein promised to get customers out of timeshare deals, but often failed to do so.
In 2017, timeshare operators initiated successful legal action against the company. In 2021 Reed Hein was ordered to stop his deceptive practices, said Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, and to pay $2.6 million to be used for victim restitution. The company later ceased trading.
Each of the 17 plaintiffs in the April lawsuit say they paid thousands for Timeshare Exit Team’s services after listening to Ramsey’s promotions. They say they were often advised to negotiate their own settlements with their timeshare companies, and they usually found it impossible to contact Reed Hein.
Ramsey promoted Reed Hein between 2015 and 2021 and only quit when the company stopped paying him, the suit said. It is said that during that time he received thousands of letters from listeners saying they were not satisfied with the company’s services.
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During the time Ramsey was promoting Reed Hein, the company was reported to have received $70 million in fees from clients referred to the company by the radio host.
Lawyers claim that as complaints mounted, Ramsey became increasingly combative about his ties to the company.
“Instead of admitting the deception, Ramsey recorded a nine-minute radio clip in which he lashed out at anyone he believed was responsible for Reed Hein’s misery,” the lawsuit said. Those parties included timeshare companies and the Washington State Attorney General.
“Ramsey never returned any of the tens of millions of dollars that Reed Hein and Happy Hour Media Group paid him with his own listeners’ hard-earned money. Instead, Ramsey chose to profit from his listeners’ money,” lawyers say. .
Ramsey and Happy Hour Media Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider outside of normal business hours. Religion News Service also got no response from Ramsey or Happy Hour.
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