© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The brand for Google LLC is seen on the Google Retailer Chelsea in Manhattan, New York Metropolis, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photograph
By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) – Alphabet (NASDAQ:)’s Google on Friday sued a Los Angeles man and his corporations in San Jose, California federal court docket, claiming he created lots of of pretend enterprise listings on its platforms and bought them to actual companies to lure in unsuspecting clients.
Pretend opinions have been a recurring downside on web commerce websites. Google stated in a press release that it filed the lawsuit in opposition to Ethan QiQi Hu to “assist put an finish to a lot of these malicious schemes.”
Hu didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Google’s lawsuit stated Hu creates sham companies that seem in its search engine and Google Maps, utilizing an “elaborate set of props” to confirm them on video calls with the tech big’s brokers.
The lawsuit stated Hu retains a instrument bench as a prop to confirm fraudulent listings for storage restore, tree slicing and plumbing, and important oils for verifying faux aromatherapy and reiki remedy companies.
Google stated Hu buys 1000’s of pretend optimistic opinions to make the companies seem legit. He then allegedly sells the profiles as “leads” to actual companies in the identical fields, which obtain contacts from potential clients who attain out to the faux companies.
Google stated Hu created greater than 350 false profiles bolstered by over 14,000 illegitimate opinions.
The lawsuit accused Hu of false promoting, illegal enterprise practices and violating Google’s phrases of service. Google requested the court docket for an unspecified sum of money damages and an order to dam Hu’s alleged misconduct.
The case is Google LLC v. Hu, U.S. District Court docket of the Northern District of California, No. 5:23-cv-02964.
For Google: Whitty Somvichian of Cooley
For Hu: lawyer info not obtainable
