Press Releases 2009

Federal Trade Commission Chairman William E. Kovacic issued a report, following seven months of agency self-assessment, that considers basic questions and future directions as the Commission...

Staff Working Papers on Section 2 Posted on Federal Trade Commission Web Site – Staff associated with the recent Federal Trade Commission/Department of Justice Hearings on Section 2 of the Sherman Act...

A federal district court has ordered the marketers of three dietary supplements to pay more than $15 million for deceiving consumers about the products’ safety and effectiveness. The court imposed the...

Federal Trade Commission Chairman William E. Kovacic announced today that David C. Shonka will serve as Acting General Counsel for the agency. Shonka will replace William Blumenthal, who is leaving...

A federal judge has ordered infomercial marketer Kevin Trudeau to pay more than $37 million for violating a 2004 stipulated order by misrepresenting the content of his book, “The Weight Loss Cure...

Following the Federal Trade Commission’s filing of a lawsuit to block the transaction, CRH plc, the parent company of Oldcastle Architectural, Inc., announced on January 14, 2009, that it will not...

The Federal Trade Commission has filed suit to block Oldcastle Architectural, Inc.’s proposed acquisition of the interests and assets of the rival Pavestone companies, charging that the $540 million...

Marketers who made false and deceptive claims that a device would cause consumers to lose weight by applying electronic stimulation to their abdominal muscles have agreed to pay $7 million to settle...

The Federal Trade Commission today announced a complaint against an Indiana-based firm and its president for failing to pay rebates due to thousands of consumers nationwide within the time promised...

The Federal Trade Commission has announced the agenda for an upcoming two-day international conference titled “Securing Personal Data in the Global Economy.” The conference, which the FTC will host in...

Fourteen defendants involved in the massive telemarketing scheme operated by Largo, Florida-based Suntasia Marketing, Inc. have agreed to pay a total of more than $16 million to settle Federal Trade...

Federal Trade Commission Chairman William E. Kovacic announced today that Lydia B. Parnes, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, will leave the agency after 27 years to enter private law...

Wachovia Bank, N.A., has mailed out over $150 million in restitution checks to more than 740,000 consumers who were victims of telemarketing fraud. On December 11, 2008, the Office of the Comptroller...

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the second in a series of public hearings exploring the evolving market for intellectual property (IP). These hearings, to be held February 11 and 12, 2009...

West Penn Multi-List, Inc., the operator of the real estate multiple listing service (MLS) in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metropolitan area, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that...

Three mortgage loan advertisers that allegedly deceptively touted low monthly payments and low rates without fully disclosing loan terms have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that...

A mortgage foreclosure rescue service that claimed that, for a $1,200 fee, they would stop foreclosure and save consumers’ homes, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated...

Federal Trade Commission Chairman William E. Kovacic announced today that William Blumenthal, the agency’s General Counsel for almost four years, will leave the agency to return to private law...

The Commission, by a vote of 4-0, has approved a Federal Register notice announcing the revised thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 required by the 2000...