Announced Actions for October 20, 2004

Commission authorization of the staff to file amended complaints: The Commission has authorized the staff to file an amended complaint in the currently pending matter concerning Chase Financial Funding, Inc., et al. The FTC’s original complaint, filed in May 2004, alleged the defendants violated Section 5 of the FTC Act and Regulation Z, the implementing regulation of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), through the company’s mortgage brokerage services. The amended complaint adds Chase Enterprises, LLC and WCM QSUB-34, Inc. as relief defendants to the Commission’s action against Chase Financial Funding and its officers, James Berry, Suzanne Admire, and Jeremy Alexander.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the amended complaint was 5-0. (FTC File No. X040046; the staff contact is Jeanne-Marie Burke, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-2874, see press release dated June 2, 2004.)

The Commission has authorized the staff to file an amended complaint in the currently pending matter concerning Pharmacycards.com, et al. The FTC’s original complaint, filed in May 2004, alleged the defendants, including HelmCrest Ltd., a Cyprus corporation, debited consumers’ bank accounts for more than $10 million without their consent by charging them $139 each for a purported prescription drug discount card. The staff has requested that the court dismiss HelmCrest, Ltd., as a defendant. The amended complaint deletes references to the HelmCrest corporate entity, and instead alleges that the two individuals did business as HelmCrest.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the amended complaint was 5-0. (FTC File No. X040056; the staff contact is Tracy S. Thorleifson, FTC Northwest Region, 206-220-4481, see press release dated May 27, 2004.)

Application for proposed divestiture: The Commission has received an application from AspenTechnology, Inc. (AspenTech), requesting FTC approval to divest its Engineering Software Assets, as that term is defined in the Commission’s proposed order announced on July 15, 2004, to Honeywell International, Inc. Under the terms of the proposed order, AspenTech is required to divest the Engineering Software Assets within 90 days of the date the order becomes final. AspenTech and Honeywell executed the purchase agreement on October 6. 2004. A public copy of AspenTech’s application can be found on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release.

The FTC is accepting public comments on the proposed divestiture for 30 days, until November 18, 2004. Comments should be sent to FTC, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20580. (FTC Docket No. 9301; the staff contact is Peter A. Richman, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2563, see press releases dated August 7, 2003 and July 15, 2004.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.