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FTC Returns More than $3 Million to Businesses that Paid for HomeAdvisor Memberships, Announces Claims Process for Additional Refunds
FTC Authorizes Compulsory Process for AI-related Products and Services
FTC, California Obtain Order Against DNA Testing Firm over Charges it Made a Myriad of Misrepresentations to Consumers to Entice Them to Buy Ancestry Reports
Arete Financial Group
In November 2019, the Federal Trade Commission obtained a temporary restraining order halting an operation that bilked consumers out of millions of dollars by pretending to be affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education and falsely promising student loan debt relief. In September 2020, the FTC announced several of the operators settled FTC charges and agreed to pay at least $835,000. In January 2022, the FTC announced that the remaining defendants in the case are banned from providing student loan debt relief services in settlements with the FTC. The defendants are required to forfeit all of their frozen funds held by the receiver. In June 2023, the FTC sent more than $3.3 million to consumers harmed by this scam.
Statement Regarding the Termination of Boston Scientific Corporation’s Attempted Acquisition of a Majority Stake in M.I. Tech Co., Ltd.
FTC Approves Final Order against HomeAdvisor, Inc. for Deceptively Marketing its Leads for Home Improvement Projects
FTC Order Requires HomeAdvisor to Pay Up To $7.2 Million and Stop Deceptively Marketing its Leads for Home Improvement Projects
FTC and 18 States Sue to Stop Harris Jewelry from Cheating Military Families with Illegal Financing and Sales Tactics
U.S. Federal Trade Commission Returning Almost $25 Million to Consumers Worldwide Who Were Defrauded by Next-Gen Sweepstakes Scheme
Next-Gen, Inc.
In 2019, the operators of a sweepstakes scam that appeared to target seniors agreed to forfeit a record $30 million in cash and assets and will be permanently banned from the prize promotion business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. In July 2022, the FTC returned almost $25 million to consumers worldwide who were defrauded by the scheme.
Remaining Defendants Banned from Providing Student Loan Debt Relief Services in Settlements with FTC
FTC Sends Checks to People Who Were Deceived into Buying Worthless Online Marketing Services
Position Gurus, LLC
The operators of a business coaching scheme will pay at least $1.2 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they targeted people who were trying to start new businesses online and used deception to sell them bogus marketing products and services.
According to the FTC’s complaint, Position Gurus and Top Shelf Ecommerce, and their owners Aaron Poysky, Stacy Griego and Samuel Cohen Brown, targeted consumers who were looking for ways to make money by starting retail businesses on the Internet. The defendants found many of their targets by purchasing consumers’ contact information from other online business coaching operations that had already deceived the targets. In August 2021, the FTC sent refunds totaling more than $1.5 million to defrauded consumers.
Associated Community Services, Inc.
The Federal Trade Commission, along with 46 agencies from 38 states and the District of Columbia, has stopped a massive telefunding operation that bombarded 67 million consumers with 1.3 billion deceptive charitable fundraising calls (mostly illegal robocalls). The defendants collected more than $110 million using their deceptive solicitations. Associated Community Services (ACS) and a number of related defendants have agreed to settle charges by the FTC and state agencies that they duped generous Americans into donating to charities that failed to provide the services they promised.
FTC Approves Final Administrative Consent Orders against Sellers of Deceptively Marketed CBD Products
FTC, 38 States, and D.C. Act to Shut Down Massive Charity Fraud Telefunding Operation
FTC Announces Crackdown on Deceptively Marketed CBD Products
FTC Approves Final Order Requiring Animal Health Product Suppliers Elanco Animal Health, Inc. and Bayer Animal Health GmbH to Divest Assets in Three Product Markets as a Condition of Acquisition
Elanco Animal Health and Bayer
In July 2020, the FTC required global suppliers of animal products, Elanco Animal Health, Inc. and Bayer Animal Health GmbH, to divest three animal health products to settle charges that Elanco’s proposed $7.6 billion acquisition of Bayer would likely be anticompetitive in those markets. On Sept. 11, 2020, the Commission announced the final consent agreement in this matter.