The legal library gives you easy access to the FTC’s case information and other official legal, policy, and guidance documents.
Alliance Document Preparation (EZ Doc Preps)
The operators of a student loan debt relief scam have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they bilked millions from consumers by falsely claiming to enroll consumers in loan forgiveness programs, for which they charged up to $1,000 in illegal upfront fees. The FTC alleged in its complaint that the defendants deceptively telemarketed their document preparation service by misrepresenting an affiliation with the Department of Education or consumers’ loan servicers, and that consumers who paid defendants an up-front fee were qualified for or approved to receive permanently reduced monthly payments or their student loans would be forgiven or discharged. On September 30, 2019, the FTC sent more than $5.4 million to nearly 40,000 people who lost money to the alleged scheme.
20192035: Michael Paulus; Prudential Financial, Inc.
20192036: Michael Rowell; Prudential Financial, Inc.
20192037: Prudential Financial, Inc.; Michael Paulus
20192038: Prudential Financial, Inc.; Michael Rowell
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request (Affiliate Marketing Rule)
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request (Regulation N)
Written Testimony of Commissioner Chopra Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services: “Examining Legislation to Protect Consumers and Small Business Owners from Abusive Debt Collection Practices”
20191920: Addus HomeCare Corporation; New Capital Partners Private Equity Fund II, L.P.
20191990: LMI PRS Aggregator, L.P.; Powerhouse Retail Services, LLC
20192024: Highbridge Multi-Strategy Master Fund, L.P.; Nalpropion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Match Group, Inc.
The Federal Trade Commission has sued online dating service Match Group, Inc. (Match), the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, PlentyOfFish, and other dating sites, alleging that the company used fake love interest advertisements to trick hundreds of thousands of consumers into purchasing paid subscriptions on Match.com. The agency also alleges that Match has unfairly exposed consumers to the risk of fraud and engaged in other allegedly deceptive and unfair practices. For instance, the FTC alleges Match offered false promises of “guarantees,” failed to provide services to consumers who unsuccessfully disputed charges, and made it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.
SmileDirectClub, LLC v. Battle, et al.
16 CFR Part 425: Negative Option Rule; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Request for Public Comment
1908001 Informal Interpretation
Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission: Protecting Consumers and Fostering Competition in the 21st Century
Opening Statement of Commissioner Chopra Before the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government: “Hearing on the FTC: Protecting Consumers and Fostering Competition in the 21st Century”
Fidelity National Financial/Stewart Information Services, In the Matter of
The FTC issued an administrative complaint charging that Fidelity National Financial’s proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of Stewart Information Services would violate the antitrust laws by significantly reducing competition for title insurance underwriting for large commercial transactions in 45 states and the District of Columbia, and for title information services in 14 local markets. The FTC alleges that if consummated, the merger would reduce an industry dominated by “the Big 4” players to the Big 3. Post-merger, Fidelity would control more than 43 percent of all title insurance sales nationwide, and over 40 percent of sales for large commercial transactions in most state-level markets. The FTC also authorized staff to seek in federal court a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent the parties from consummating the merger, and to maintain the status quo pending the administrative proceeding. On Sept. 10, 2019, the parties abandoned the transaction.