Writing “Michael Force was found guilty of fraud” based on this record would be false. The status here is civil, not criminal — and that distinction matters.
1. The claim they sold
Digital Altitude marketed a tiered online business-education system built around the founder, Michael Force. Promotional materials, sales webinars and the company's own landing pages promised participants they could earn “six figures in 90 days” while working from home, with results described as “passive” and “guaranteed.” Higher tiers offered more advanced training and the right to sell the training itself to others. The marketing leaned heavily on Force's own claimed results and on lifestyle imagery (luxury vehicles, residences, time freedom).
2. The record
On January 29, 2018, the FTC filed a complaint in the Central District of California alleging Digital Altitude and its principals operated a multi-million-dollar business-coaching scheme that deceived consumers in violation of the FTC Act, the Business Opportunity Rule, and the Consumer Review Fairness Act. The court entered a preliminary injunction, then on March 2019 entered a default judgment and final order against the defaulting corporate defendants — Digital Altitude LLC, Aspire Processing LLC, Disc Enterprises Inc., RISE Systems & Enterprise LLC (Utah and Nevada), Soar International, and others — imposing a $54 million monetary judgment (joint and several) and a permanent ban on the sale of business-coaching programs and investment opportunities (Default Judgment, FTC file 289).
Individual settlements followed. According to the FTC, defendants Michael Force, Mary Dee, Morgan Johnson, and Alan Moore, among others, settled FTC charges by stipulated order; settlements included monetary components and permanent injunctive relief, with most of the underlying judgment suspended due to inability to pay. Force's stipulated final order, as reported in primary FTC filings, requires the allegations to be taken as true; this is a civil consent order, not a criminal conviction.
The file reviewed here does not document a criminal indictment or conviction of any Digital Altitude principal at the federal or state level. Writing “Michael Force was found guilty of fraud” based on this record would be false.
3. What it means for a buyer
The legal status here is civil, not criminal — and that distinction matters. A civil default judgment means the court accepted the FTC's allegations because the defendants did not defend. It does not mean a criminal court found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The lesson for a buyer is narrower and still sharp: a default judgment of $54 million against a corporate defendant means the FTC's account of the marketing was substantiated on the record before a federal judge. That is more than enough to walk away from the same offer today.
4. Current standing
Digital Altitude LLC has been in receivership since 2018 and the operation is offline. Force has continued to appear on social media and in promotional materials from unrelated ventures; the FTC injunctive order binds him in the sale of business-coaching programs and investment opportunities.