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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.
In October 2022, a Latvian payment processor and its former CEO agreed to settle the FTC’s complaint against them. The complaint alleged that they engaged in unlawful conduct that enabled a deceptive “free trial” offer scheme by U.S.-based defendants. In September 2024, the FTC returned more than $2.8 million to consumer deceived by the scheme.
The FTC alleged that CafePress failed to implement reasonable security measures to protect sensitive information stored on its network, including plain text Social Security numbers, inadequately encrypted passwords, and answers to password reset questions. The Commission’s proposed order requires the company to bolster its data security and requires its former owner to pay a half million dollars to compensate small businesses.
The FTC is sending payments totaling more than $370,000 to consumers who were harmed by the data security failures of online merchandise platform CafePress.
The Federal Trade Commission is charging online cash advance provider FloatMe and its co-founders with using empty promises of quick and free cash advances to entice consumers to join its service, only to fail to deliver the promised advance amounts, make it difficult to cancel, and discriminate against consumers who receive public assistance. FloatMe is also being charged with making baseless claims that cash advance limits would be increased by an algorithm or another automated system.
Under the terms of a settlement order, FloatMe, as well as its co-founders Joshua Sanchez and Ryan Cleary, are required to provide $3 million to be used to refund customers, stop the company’s deceptive marketing, make it easier for consumers to cancel their subscriptions, and institute a fair lending program.
The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $2.6 million in refunds to consumers harmed by online cash advance provider FloatMe. The company deceived consumers with false promises of “free money” and discriminated against some consumers who applied for cash advances.
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.
A federal court granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to temporarily shut down an alleged pyramid scheme known as “Success By Health,” and to freeze the assets of the company and its executives.
In May 2023, a federal court sided with the Federal Trade Commission, ruling that James D. Noland, Jr. illegally owned and operated two pyramid schemes—Success By Health (SBH) and VOZ Travel—in violation of the FTC Act and that Noland violated a previous federal court order barring him from pyramid schemes and from misrepresenting multilevel marketing participants’ income potential.