Jesse Willms is a Canadian entrepreneur and businessman who has founded several companies, including eDirect Software, Car History Group, and Just Think Media.
"[citation needed] Through an online storefront, Willms, along with an assembled staff of a dozen people, sold copies of computer software that he had obtained relatively inexpensively from the Jordanian government.
The business became such a success that Willms quickly launched other types of alleged health products, such as colon cleansers, teeth whiteners, and acai supplements.
The web pages that were used to sell the products were filled with fake "scientific proof" and alleged endorsements from celebrities and TV networks.
According to the FTC investigation, the majority of Willms’ profit came from negative option billing, "a practice in which the seller interprets consumers' silence or inaction as permission to charge them".
[3] In effect, this meant that consumers signing up for "free trials" of a product were charged with extra fees hidden in the fine print of the terms and conditions.
In September 2011, a U.S. District Court Judge froze Willms' assets and prohibited him from continuing to sell products through negative-option billing.