Tag: Consumer Protection

The FTC sued multilevel marketer Amare Global Holdings Inc. and three of its principals for misrepresenting to parents and other consumers that its dietary supplements marketed for children and adults could treat or cure health conditions such as depression, anxiety and ADHD, and for misleading its seller recruits about their potential earnings as “brand partners.” 

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to hold in contempt dietary supplement provider Amare Global Holdings as well as its former Chief Science Officer Shawn Talbott and two other individuals over allegations they violated an FTC order in the Window Rock case that banned Talbott and those who work with him from making false, deceptive or unsubstantiated health claims.

The Federal Trade Commission and the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) are taking action against various companies doing business as Home Matters USA, Academy Home Services, Atlantic Pacific Service Group, and Golden Home Services America, and the owners of the companies, Dominic Ahiga and Roger Scott Dyer, for operating a sham mortgage relief operation that misled consumers and cost them millions. In the first case brought jointly by the two agencies, the FTC and DFPI allege that the companies charged consumers thousands of dollars with false promises they would negotiate with consumers’ mortgage lenders to alter their loans, at times even representing they were affiliated with government COVID-19 relief programs. A federal court has temporarily shut down the operation and frozen the assets of the defendants in the case.

The court’s orders bar the individuals and their companies from directly or indirectly engaging in telemarketing, debt relief services, and making any misrepresentations or unsubstantiated claims about any product or service.

The Federal Trade Commission will require education technology provider Illuminate Education, Inc. to implement a data security program and delete unnecessary data to settle allegations that the company’s data security failures led to a major data breach.

In June 2026, the FTC obtained a temporary restraining order against alleged mortgage debt relief scheme National Amendment Assistance (N.A.A) and its operators over allegations that they claim they can provide mortgage relief assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to lure and scam homeowners. The FTC alleges N.A.A. and its operators misled consumers into paying unlawful upfront fees in exchange for guarantees of lower mortgage rates and monthly payments that never materialized.

The Federal Trade Commission and the State of Nevada are taking action to stop a wide-ranging investment training and business venture scam that has bilked consumers out of more than $1.2 billion. According to the complaint filed by the FTC and the Nevada Attorney General, the scam currently operates as IYOVIA and has also used the brand names IM Mastery Academy, iMarketsLive, and IM Academy (collectively, “IML”).

On Aug. 7, 2025, the FTC announced that three of the defendants, Global Dynasty Network, LLC, Jason Brown, and Matthew Rosa, agreed to a settlement of the allegations.

In August 2025, a U.S. District Court judge in Nevada has issued a preliminary injunction against the three companies that executed the IM Mastery Academy schemes and the two individuals who have led it, halting their activities and requiring them to preserve their assets.

Following settlements with several other defendants, in September 2025, the FTC announced proposed settlements with defendants Alex Morton and Brandon Boyd. 

In May 2026, the FTC announced settlements with five individual and corporate IM Mastery Academy defendants, including ringleaders Chris and Isis Terry.

The FTC will require Cox Media Group, MindSift, and 1010 Digital Works to pay a total of $930,000 to settle allegations they deceived customers by falsely claiming to offer an AI-powered service that could target localized ads based on conversations captured from consumers’ smart devices and that consumers had opted into such targeting.

The FTC will require Cox Media Group, MindSift, and 1010 Digital Works to pay a total of $930,000 to settle allegations they deceived customers by falsely claiming to offer an AI-powered service that could target localized ads based on conversations captured from consumers’ smart devices and that consumers had opted into such targeting.