Telemarketing Firm Accused of Fraud, Shut Down by FTC : Closure: Turcal Inc. in Fountain Valley bilked 10,000 people out of $5 million in time-share sale operation, regulators say.

Federal regulators have shut down a telemarketing operation that they allege has bilked about 10,000 people out of $5 million by falsely claiming to sell their time shares in resort properties.

Turcal Inc. in Fountain Valley, owner Michael Cevatli and consultant Glenn Kennedy agreed to a federal court injunction Thursday that prevents them from continuing to do business, said Gerald Wright, a staff attorney for the Federal Trade Commission.

Turcal, doing business variously as Admatch Network, Promatch Advertising Network and Resort Condo Marketing, ceased operations March 4.

Cevatli, of Fountain Valley, said Friday that he did nothing wrong. He said he has no money to pay lawyers to fight the accusations and therefore must consent to the agency’s actions.

“I can’t believe all this is happening,” he said. “I can do nothing about it.”

The FTC alleged that, over the past two years, Turcal called owners of time shares and, for $495 each, promised to match them with buyers immediately at prices that equaled or exceeded what the owners paid.

“Generally time shares decline in value because there are many who want to sell but very few who want to buy,” Wright said.

Cevatli denied the allegations, saying he simply ran an electronic advertising operation. He said he put names of buyers and sellers in a computer so that customers could find their own matches. He said he had more than 13,800 customers during the past five years.

“The company made $5.8 million over five years, but all of it was put back into company,” he said. “The company grew fast. I had five employees, and it grew to 40, and then the FTC came in and knocked me down.”

Wright said that Cevatli and Kennedy, of Los Angeles, will likely agree to a permanent injunction that bars them from running such an operation again.