Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

As a result of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection (DCP), the principals of a Utah-based real estate investment training company will pay $15 million and be banned from selling money-making opportunities under a court order they have agreed to. In addition, two of the primary real estate celebrities who endorsed the training have agreed to orders that require them to pay $1.7 million.

The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $10 million in refunds to consumers who paid for a real estate investment training program that allegedly made empty promises about earning big profits “flipping” houses.  

The FTC filed a complaint against RCG Advances, LLC—formerly known as Richmond Capital Group, LLC, and also doing business as Viceroy Capital Funding and Ram Capital Funding—and a related entity and individuals. The complaint alleges that, since at least 2015, the defendants have deceived small businesses and other organizations by misrepresenting the terms of merchant cash advances they provided, and then used unfair collection practices, including threatening physical violence, to compel consumers to pay. The FTC also alleges that defendants have made unauthorized withdrawals from consumers’ accounts.

RCG Advances, LLC and Robert Giardina are permanently banned from the merchant cash advance industry for deceiving and threatening small businesses and their owners. In addition, the court ordered RCG Advances and Giardina to make an upfront payment of $1.5 million and subsequent payment of more than $1.2 million to refund consumers.

Jonathan Braun, who controlled small-business funding company RCG Advances, will face a permanent ban from the merchant cash advance and debt collection industries. A federal court issued summary judgment in favor of the FTC in the case along with a permanent injunction against Braun.

As a result of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, a federal court has entered a judgment requiring merchant cash advance operator Jonathan Braun to pay $20.3 million in monetary relief and civil penalties.

On July 17, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQVIA) from acquiring Propel Media, Inc. (PMI), alleging in an administrative complaint that the proposed acquisition would give IQVIA a market- leading position in programmatic advertising for health care products, namely prescription drugs, to doctors and other health care professionals. The Commission also authorized FTC staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal district court to prevent IQVIA from consummating its acquisition of PMI, pending the agency’s administrative proceeding.

After a nearly two-week evidentiary hearing and closing arguments in late November and December 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos issued an order granting the FTC’s motion for preliminary injunction on December 29, 2023.

The Federal Trade Commission and a group of seven state enforcers filed a complaint in federal district court against Vyera Pharmaceuticals, LLC, alleging an elaborate anticompetitive scheme to preserve a monopoly for the life-saving drug, Daraprim. The Commission vote to issue the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed on Jan. 27, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In a Jan. 14, 2022 ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote found Shkreli’s conduct “egregious, deliberate, repetitive, long-running, and ultimately dangerous.” Judge Cote banned Shkreli for life from the pharmaceutical industry.

On January 23, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s ruling.

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against Florida-based ExotoUSA LLC. (d/b/a Old Southern Brass) for falsely claiming that certain company products were manufactured in the U.S, and that the company was veteran-operated and donated 10 percent of its sales to military service charities.

The FTC’s proposed order would stop the company and its owner, Austin Oliver, from making these deceptive claims and require them to pay a monetary judgment.

According to the FTC’s complaint, Old Southern Brass made many claims on its website and advertising that the products it sold were made in the United States.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission in a case against the operators of a scheme that deceived financially distressed homeowners by falsely promising to make their mortgages more affordable.  The defendants also charged consumers illegal advance fees and unlawfully told consumers not to pay their mortgages to or communicate with their lenders.

In January 2024, The FTC sent more than $1.2 million in refunds to consumers who lost money to Consumer Defense.

On January 2, 2024, the Department of Justice on referral from the FTC filed a complaint alleging that California-based lead generator Response Tree LLC and its president, Derek Thomas Doherty operated more than 50 websites designed to trick consumers into providing their personal information for supposed mortgage refinancing loans and other services. These telemarketing campaigns, which made robocalls and calls to numbers on the DNC Registry, were illegal, as the telemarketers did not have consumers’ consent to be called.

Under a proposed order settling the FTC’s charges, Response Tree and Derek Thomas Doherty will be banned from making or assisting anyone else in making robocalls or calls to phone numbers on the FTC’s Do Not Call (DNC) Registry.

The Federal Trade Commission sued to block John Muir Health’s proposed $142.5 million deal to acquire sole ownership of San Ramon Regional Medical Center, LLC from current majority owner Tenet Healthcare Corporation, saying the deal will drive up health care costs.

The Commission issued an administrative complaint and authorized a lawsuit in federal court alleging the proposed acquisition will eliminate head-to-head competition between John Muir Health and nearby San Ramon Regional Medical Center.

On December 18, 2023  the FTC and California moved to dismiss their federal court case and the FTC dismissed its administrative challenge following John Muir announcing it would terminate its proposed deal to acquire Tenet’s remaining interest in San Ramon Medical Center.

In November 2023, the FTC announced that California-based CRI Genetics, LLC (CRI) will pay a $700,000 civil penalty and will be barred from a wide range of deceptive practices to settle charges from the Commission and the California Attorney General that the company deceived users about the accuracy of its DNA reports.

A court has granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to preliminarily halt a scheme in which the defendants operated hundreds of websites that promised a quick and easy government service, such as renewing a driver’s license, or eligibility determinations for public benefits. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court held that the FTC was likely to prevail in proving that “the websites were patently misleading.”