July 23, 2008 -- Attorney General Steve Six announced today that his office has shut down an out-of-state travel company suspected of participating in a pattern of deceptive business practices. Elite Escapes International LLC has been prohibited from conducting business in Kansas.
Late yesterday, attorneys from the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division served a temporary restraining order on Elite Escapes to stop them from continuing to conduct business in Kansas. A Shawnee County judge granted the restraining order.
"Yesterday, my office shut down an out-of-state travel company we believe was participating in deceptive business practices," Six said. "Through quick action, my office--with assistance from the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office--was able to stop this company and protect Kansas consumers."
Elite Escapes has been offering vacation travel club services to Kansans through telemarketing and presentations in local hotels. Presentations have been reported in Overland Park and Wichita, Kansas.
Upon investigation and with coordination from the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, the Attorneys' General Offices in the States of Missouri, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, Nevada, Kentucky, New Mexico, and the Office of District Attorney Nola Foulston -- Kansas officials discovered a pattern and practice of deceptive and unconscionable practices.
The Kansas Attorney General's Office alleges that Elite Escapes committed numerous violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act relating to deceptive business practices and illegal prize notifications. Six encourages Kansans who may have attended one of the presentations to contact his Consumer Protection Division at 1 (800) 432-2310. Wichita area residents who attended a presentation in Sedgwick County are asked to contact the District Attorney's Office Division of Consumer Fraud and Economic Crime at 1 (800) 432-6878.
Elite Escapes does not have a principal place of business in Kansas and is not registered with the Kansas Secretary of State. Elite Escapes also conducts business under the name Vacation International Professional Services LLC or as VIP Travel. Michael Mitchell, a resident of South Carolina, is believed to be operating these and other transient travel clubs out of hotels throughout the United States.