Golembiewski and his company "rarely, if ever, sought information" about whether the advertisements represented the services provided by the companies paying for the leads, the FTC said in the complaint.

The company also used fake customer testimonials and suggested that customers could be debt free in less than five years, the FTC said in the complaint. "If you play your cards right, your debt problems will vanish before the first year ends," one ad said.

United Debt Associates did not return a phone message seeking comment on the FTC settlement.

In addition to the judgment of more than $390,000, the settlement bans the defendants from engaging in or assisting others to engage in any debt relief service, and bars them from making any misrepresentations when marketing a financial product. The settlement requires the defendants to get substantiation for any benefit or performance claim for financial products.

The IDG News Service