Announced Actions for April 12, 2005

Commission authorization of the staff to file amended complaints: The Commission has authorized the staff to file an amended complaint in the matter currently pending against Capital Acquisition & Management Company (CAMCO). In December 2004, staff of the FTC’s Midwest Region filed a complaint in U.S. district court against CAMCO and several other defendants alleging violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in connection with their debt-collection practices. Staff subsequently received a temporary restraining order with asset freeze against these defendants, as well as the appointment of a receiver over the defendants’ corporations. Through this action, the staff has amended its original complaint to add David Kapp, Joshua Rausch, Michael Seng, and Billy Martin as defendants in this matter. Each of the newly added defendants was a senior manager of the defendant corporation.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the amended complaint was 5-0. (FTC File No. X040036; the staff contact is David A. O’Toole, FTC Midwest Region, 312-960-5601; see press release dated December 8, 2004.)

The Commission has authorized the staff to file an amended complaint in the matter currently pending against Bronson Partners, LLC, d/b/a New England Diet Center and Bronson Day Spa. In November 2004, as part of the FTC’s “Operation Big Fat Lie” law enforcement sweep, staff of the Northeast Region filed a complaint against the defendants, alleging that they made false and unsubstantiated weight-loss claims in advertisements for Chinese Diet Tea and the Bio-Slim Patch. Through this action, the FTC is seeking to add Sandra Howard, the spouse of one of the original defendants in this matter, and H&H Marketing, LLC, as relief defendants in the case.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the amended complaint was 5-0. (FTC File No. X050006; the staff contact is Robin Eichen, FTC Northeast Region, 212-607-2803; see press release dated November 9, 2004.)

Commission approval of final consent order, hold separate agreement, and hold separate trustee: The Commission has approved and issued a final consent order in the matter concerning Cytec Industries, Inc.’s (Cytec) acquisition of the Surface Specialties Group (SurfaceSpecialties) of UCB, S.A. Under the terms of the consent order, Cytec must divest, by August 27, 2005, assets related to the research, manufacture, and sale of amino resins to a buyer approved by the Commission. As previously announced on March 1, 2005, the Commission issued an order requiring Cytec to hold and operate those assets separately until they are divested, and appointed Richard M. Klein as the hold separate trustee to monitor Cytec’s performance of its obligations under that order. In addition to issuing the order, the Commission has approved a hold separate trustee agreement between Cytec and Klein.

The Commission votes approving the final consent order and hold separate trustee agreement were 5-0. (FTC File No. C-4132; the staff contact is Arthur M. Strong, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-3478; see press release dated March 1, 2005.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.