Jose Muñiz was scrambling to keep up with orders at his Tamarac company, which ships live monarch butterflies for release at weddings and funerals, when he got a call from International Profit Associates.

IPA, a business consulting firm with 1,800 employees and $250 million in revenue, said one of its analysts might help him identify obstacles to growth at Amazing Butterflies.

One year later, Muñiz says he has a new hurdle: staying afloat as he continues to pay off $90,000 in debts split between IPA-related bills and fees on a risky loan he says IPA should have warned him against.

Muñiz and 39 other small-business owners -- including two others from Florida -- are suing IPA executives in Chicago federal court, claiming that they engaged in racketeering and fraud to sell millions of dollars in often unnecessary consulting contracts.

The suit, filed in March, alleges that IPA employees lied about consultants' qualifications and misrepresented the services they were offering. In addition, the plaintiffs argue that the company's pyramid-style compensation structure forces IPA workers to push services -- whether they are needed or not.

Established in 1991 in Buffalo Grove, Ill., IPA provides consulting to small and medium businesses through its flagship organization and subsidiaries, such as International Tax Advisors and Accountancy Associates. IPA claims to have worked with more than 170,000 firms since its inception and ''thousands'' in Florida in the last two years.

IPA says that it has a 99.5 percent customer satisfaction rate and that its 16-year track record is being muddied by a few vocal, disgruntled clients. It's asking the judge to dismiss the case.

''We are at a loss to understand how any thoughtful person [might] believe the allegations,'' the company wrote in response to questions from The Miami Herald.

The business consulting industry is unregulated, and both client expectations and quality of service can vary wildly, experts say. Even so, IPA has drawn more fire than most.

In the last three years, the Better Business Bureau has processed 424 complaints about IPA's services and high-pressure sales tactics by its telemarketers and debt collectors. IPA says it has resolved virtually all of the complaints, but the BBB said IPA's current ''unsatisfactory'' rating reflects the fact that the company has failed to address the root cause of the problems and complaints continue to pile up.

FLORIDA COMPLAINTS
STATE OFFICIAL NOTIFIES ILLINOIS INVESTIGATORS

Florida's attorney general has registered 28 complaints against IPA and passed those concerns along to its Illinois counterpart, which is investigating the company. While IPA has been sued by individual clients in the past, this is the first time that former customers have banded together in court.

Key to the plaintiffs' allegations are claims that IPA's organizational structure might promote heavy-handed sales tactics or fraud. One example: IPA's business analysis service. For between $300 and $3,000, IPA sends an analyst to provide ''an objective'' look at a business and give ``an unbiased view of its strengths and weaknesses.''

What many customers don't know is that the initial fee they pay doesn't go to the analyst doing the work, but goes to the telemarketer and field representative who sold the service. The only way the analyst can make money is by selling an additional consulting contract that can cost tens of thousands of dollars, according to IPA literature filed as evidence.

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