The legal library gives you easy access to the FTC’s case information and other official legal, policy, and guidance documents.
1Health.io/Vitagene, In the Matter of
The FTC reached a settlement with 1Health.io over allegations that it left sensitive genetic and health data unsecured, deceived consumers about their ability to get their data deleted and changed its privacy policy retroactively without adequately notifying and obtaining consent from consumers whose data the company had already collected.
2408003 Informal Interpretation
2408011 Informal Interpretation
2408002 Informal Interpretation
2408007 Informal Interpretation
2408009 Informal Interpretation
Financial Education Services
The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against Financial Education Services and its owners, Parimal Naik, Michael Toloff, Christopher Toloff and Gerald Thompson, as well as a number of related companies, for scamming consumers out of more than $213 million.
In response to a complaint filed by the FTC, a federal court has temporarily shut down the sprawling bogus credit repair scheme. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company preys on consumers with low credit scores by luring them in with the false promise of an easy fix and then recruiting them to join a pyramid scheme selling the same worthless credit repair services to others.
According to the FTC’s complaint, Michigan-based Financial Education Services, also doing business as United Wealth Services, has operated its scheme since at least 2015. The company claims to offer consumers the ability to remove negative information from credit reports and increase credit scores by hundreds of points, charging as much as $89 per month for their services. Their techniques, according to the complaint, are rarely effective and in many instances harm consumer’s credit scores.
Zurixx, LLC
The operators of a massive real estate investment coaching scheme face permanent bans and will pay approximately $12 million for consumer redress as part of a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the Utah Department of Commerce Division of Consumer Protection (UDCP).
The FTC and UDCP alleged that Zurixx, LLC, its owners Cristopher Cannon, James Carlson, and Jeffrey Spangler, and a number of associated companies operated a real estate investment coaching scheme that sold live seminars and telephone coaching using false earnings claims that convinced tens of thousands of consumers to pay them thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $12 million in refunds to consumers who paid Zurixx, LLC for a real estate investment training program that allegedly made empty promises about earning big profits by “flipping” houses.
2407002 Informal Interpretation
Mail Tree Inc
As a result of a June 2024 settlement with the FTC, the operators of a sweepstakes scam that cost consumers millions agreed to settlements that permanently ban them from operating sweepstakes or making claims to consumers about prizes they have won or may win. The FTC first filed its complaint against Matthew Pisoni, Marcus Pradel and John Leon in 2015, alleging that they helped operate a sprawling sweepstakes operation that took more than $28 million from consumers throughout the United States and other countries In August 2024, the Commission announced the settlement with another individual defendant in the case, Victor Ramirez.
2406004 Informal Interpretation
2406001 Informal Interpretation
2406002 Informal Interpretation
Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, Joined by Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson In the Matter of The Kroger Company and Albertsons Companies, Inc.
Blackbaud, Inc.
Blackbaud, Inc. will be required to delete personal data that it doesn’t need to retain as part of a settlement with the FTC over charges that the company’s lax security allowed a hacker to breach the company’s network and access the personal data of millions of consumers including Social Security and bank account numbers.
2405002 Informal Interpretation
BlueSnap
The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against payment processing company BlueSnap, Inc., along with its former CEO Ralph Dangelmaier and senior vice president Terry Monteith, charging them with knowingly processing payments for deceptive and fraudulent companies. The defendants have agreed to a settlement that will require them to turn over $10 million for consumers and stop processing payments for certain high-risk clients.
In a federal court complaint, the FTC charged that BlueSnap and its officers processed millions of dollars in credit card payments for ACRO Services despite substantial evidence that the company was fraudulent. The FTC sued ACRO Services in November 2022.
AT&T Mobility LLC (Mobile Data Service)
AT&T reached a settlement with the FTC over allegations that the wireless provider misled millions of its smartphone customers by charging them for “unlimited” data plans while reducing their data speeds.
Zaappaaz LLC
The Federal Trade Commission filed suit against Zaappaaz, the operators of wrist-band.com and other online storefronts, for failing to deliver on promises that they could quickly ship products like face masks, sanitizer, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit alleges that the company violated the FTC’s Mail, Internet and Telephone Order Rule (Mail Order Rule), which requires that companies notify consumers of shipping delays in a timely manner and give consumers the chance to cancel orders and receive prompt refunds.