	In May 2011, after an 18-month investigation, the FTC filed a lawsuit against Willms. The lawsuit claimed that Willms, from 2007 to 2011, had conned approximately $467 million from customers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. In September 2011, a U.S. District Court Judge froze Willms' assets and prohibited him from continuing to sell products through negative-option. In early 2012, Willms acquiesced to a $359 million settlement. As part of the settlement, Willms also agreed to sell off personal property, including his mansion.