Announced Actions for April 4, 2003

Submission of Commission report to Congress: In accordance with the reporting provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the FTC has submitted its third annual report to Congress on the number and disposition of enforcement actions taken pursuant to Section 521 of the Act. Since the last Report, the Commission filed law enforcement actions in four federal district courts against companies allegedly engaged in "pretexting" - obtaining a consumer's financial information by false pretenses. In each of these cases, the Commission alleged that the defendants procured the information from consumers themselves, through various misrepresentations and deceptions intended fraudulently to obtain those consumers' customer information of a financial institution. In each case, the Commission negotiated stipulated final judgments and orders barring future violations and requiring disgorgement of ill-gotten gains. The Commission's law enforcement efforts are ongoing, including consumer and industry education. The vote to approve release of the report was 5-0. (FTC File No. P014806, staff contacts are Jeffery S. Davidson, 202-326-3315 and Christopher Keller, 202-326-3159; see related releases issued January 31, 2001 and May 3, 2002.)

Issuance of permanent injunction and default judgment: A federal judge in Florida has entered a permanent injunction and default judgment for $726,874.06 against Stock Value 1, Inc. and Meristar International, Inc. The FTC previously charged the two companies with making false and unsubstantiated claims about cell phone radiation shields in a lawsuit filed in 2002. Deborah Jenkins, the former president of Stock Value 1, settled related charges against her in a stipulated permanent injunction in August 2002. (Civ. No. 02-80131-CIV-HURLEY/LYNCH (S.D. Fla., West Palm Beach); staff contact is Serena Viswanathan, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3244; see press releases dated February 20 and May 14, 2002.)