Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

In July 2020, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in federal court against the California-based marketers and promoters of bogus treatments for serious medical conditions.  The defendants are two corporations headquartered in Porterville, California, and two of their executives: Huu Tieu, president and CEO of both companies; and Stephen Meis, Medical Director and board member of Golden Sunrise Nutraceutical.  The complaint alleged that defendants have promoted and sold a variety of products through "plans of care" ranging in price from $23,000 to $200,000, which falsely claim to treat or cure COVID-19, cancer, Parkinson's disease, etc. On June 14, 2021, the FTC announced a proposed order barring the defendants from making bogus health claims. In January 2024, the FTC announced the process defrauded consumers can use to seek refunds. In February 2026, the FTC announced it was sending refund checks to eligible consumers, as well as an online process for eligible consumers who have not yet submitted a claim to do so. 

The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with bankrupt crypto company Voyager that will permanently ban it from handling consumers’ assets and is filing suit against its former CEO, Stephen Ehrlich, for falsely claiming that customers’ accounts were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and were “safe,” even as the company was approaching an eventual bankruptcy. The complaint also names Stephen Ehrlich’s wife, Francine Ehrlich, as a relief defendant.

In the federal court complaint, the FTC charges that from at least 2018 until it declared bankruptcy in July 2022, Voyager used promises that consumers’ deposits would be “safe” to entice them to hand over their funds. When the company failed, consumers lost access to significant assets they had saved, including ongoing salary deposits, college tuition funds, and down payments for homes, according to the complaint, which notes that consumers were locked out of their cash accounts for more than a month and lost more than $1 billion in crypto assets.

In June 2025, the FTC announced that the Ehrlichs have agreed to pay $2.8 million to resolve the FTC’s charges. Stephen Ehrlich also agreed to a ban on marketing or selling retail products or services used to buy, sell, deposit, or trade cryptocurrency.