Every year the FTC brings hundreds of cases against individuals and companies for violating consumer protection and competition laws that the agency enforces. These cases can involve fraud, scams, identity theft, false advertising, privacy violations, anti-competitive behavior and more. The Legal Library has detailed information about cases we have brought in federal court or through our internal administrative process, called an adjudicative proceeding.
HomeAdvisor, In the Matter of
In January 2023, the FTC issued an order requiring Denver-based HomeAdvisor, Inc. – a company affiliated with Angi, formerly known as “Angie’s List” – to pay up to $7.2 million for using a wide range of deceptive and misleading tactics in selling home improvement project leads to service providers, including small businesses operating in the “gig” economy. The Commission announced approval of the final consent order in April 2023.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and Black Knight, Inc., FTC v.
The Bountiful Company
In February 2023, the FTC took action against a marketer of vitamins and other supplements called The Bountiful Company for abusing a feature of Amazon.com to deceive consumers into thinking that its newly introduced supplements had more product ratings and reviews, higher average ratings, and “#1 Best Seller” and “Amazon’s Choice” badges. The case against Bountiful marks the FTC’s first law enforcement challenging “review hijacking,” in which a marketer steals or repurposes reviews of another product. The company agreed to pay $600,000 in consumer redress to settle the FTC’s complaint. In March 2024, the Commission announced it was sending more than $527,000 to impacted consumers.
Legacy Cremation Services
On behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice is suing Funeral & Cremation Group of North America, LLC, Legacy Cremation Services, LLC, d/b/a Heritage Cremation Provider, and their owner, Anthony Joseph Damiano, for misrepresenting their location and prices, illegally threatening and failing to return cremated remains to consumers, and failing to provide disclosures required by the Funeral Rule. The FTC is asking the court to stop violations of the FTC Act and the Funeral Rule and impose civil penalties on the defendants. In April 2023, the FTC announced that the defendants will pay civil penalties and abide by strict requirements on how they communicate with customers to resolve the lawsuit filed on behalf of the FTC by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson Regarding the Issuance of a Notice of Penalty Offenses on Substantiation of Product Claims
Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson regarding the Negative Option Rule NPRM
Dalal A. Akoury d/b/a AWAREmed, et al., U.S. v.
In March 2023, the FTC took action under the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act, suing Dr. Dalal A. Akoury and a set of companies she controls that operate as AWAREmed Health & Wellness Resource Center, a medical clinic, for making a wide range of false or unsupported claims for addiction treatment services, cancer treatment services, and the treatment of other serious conditions. The proposed order settling the Commission’s complaint bars Dr. Akoury and her AWAREmed clinic from making such unsupported claims and requires her to pay a $100,000 civil penalty.
Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson In the Matter of Anchor Glass Container Corp
LCA-Vision Inc. d/b/a LasikPlus
In January 2023, the FTC issued an order requiring Ohio-based LCA-Vision, doing business as LasikPlus and Joffe MediCenter, to pay $1.25 million for using deceptive bait-and-switch advertising to trick consumers into believing they could have their vision corrected for less than $300. The order also bans the defendants from making the misrepresentations detailed in the complaint. The Commission approved the final consent order in March 2023.
Prudential Security, et al., In the Matter of
Instant Brands LLC, In the Matter of
The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against Instant Brands, manufacturer of Pyrex-brand kitchen and home products, for falsely claiming that all its popular glass measuring cups were made in the United States during a time some measuring cups were imported from China. The FTC’s proposed order against Instant Brands would stop the company from making deceptive claims about products being “Made in USA” and require them to pay a monetary judgment.