Case Summary
In June 2021, the FTC charged online marketer Trend Deploy with falsely promising consumers that it could quickly deliver facemasks and other personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, then failing to deliver on customers’ orders or offer cancellations or refunds. The Commission is seeking refunds for consumers, as well as civil penalties. In June 2023, the FTC announced a summary judgment in its favor against the defendants.
In August 2025, the FTC Frank Romero, the operator of Trend Deploy,was required to turn over the remaining funds in his bank and retirement accounts as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. Romero failed to comply with a 2023 judgment stemming from an FTC lawsuit charging that he did not deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) as promised to consumers.