FTC Targets Scams Spawned by Economic Downturn

WHO: David Vladeck, Director, FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Tony West, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Roy Cooper, Attorney General of North Carolina A victim of an employment scam WHERE: Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Room 432Washington, DC Call-in Information: Reporters unable to attend the event can call in. The toll-free […]

Prepaid Calling Card Distributor Agrees to Pay $1.3 Million

A leading U.S. distributor of prepaid calling cards has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the calling cards failed to deliver the number of minutes advertised. In tests conducted by the FTC, the calling cards on average provided less than half of the advertised calling minutes. The settlement resolves […]

FTC Urges Consumers to Report Jamaica-based Telemarketing Scams

The Federal Trade Commission and other law enforcement agencies in the United States and Jamaica are turning up the heat on Jamaica-based telemarketing scammers. The rip-off artists pose as lawyers, customs officials, or lottery representatives, and target U.S. residents with phony promises of sweepstakes or lottery winnings. According to the FTC, U.S. Immigration and Customs […]

Commission Files Amended Complaint in Federal Loan Modification Law Center Case

The FTC filed an amended complaint adding several new defendants in the action currently pending against Federal Loan Modification Law Center, LLP, and six related defendants. The original complaint, filed on April 3, 2009, charged the defendants with misrepresenting that in exchange for a large up-front fee, they will obtain a mortgage loan modification or […]

FTC Roundtable to Discuss Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration; Call for Public Comments

The Federal Trade Commission and the Searle Center on Law, Regulation, and Economic Growth at Northwestern University School of Law will host a two-day public event on consumer protection issues in debt collection proceedings against individual consumers. This will be the first in a series of FTC roundtable discussions on these topics. WHAT: “Protecting Consumers […]

FTC Settles with Two Defendants in Bogus Computer Scan Case

Two defendants in a case involving a massive “scareware” scheme will settle Federal Trade Commission charges of deceptive advertising and forfeit more than $100,000 in assets that were frozen last year at the Commission’s request. The two settling defendants were part of a massive deceptive advertising scheme that tricked more than a million consumers into […]

‘Credit Repair’ Operation Settles with FTC; Company Made False Claims and Charged Illegal Up-Front Fees

A federal court has ordered a credit repair operation and its principals to stop making false claims and requiring advance payment for credit repair services. The agreed-upon court orders are a result of a settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and the “credit repair” defendants. The Commission sued the defendants in October 2008 as part […]

FTC Issues Interim Report on “Authorized Generic” Drugs

The Federal Trade Commission today issued “Authorized Generics: An Interim Report,” which presents the first set of results from a study conducted to examine the short-term and long-term effects of “authorized generics” on competition in the prescription drug marketplace. An authorized generic exists when a pharmaceutical manufacturer sells a drug under both a brand-name and […]

FTC Chairman Leibowitz: Eliminating Pay-for-Delay Pharmaceutical Settlements Would Save Consumers $3.5 Billion Annually

In a speech today before the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz said that an internal FTC analysis projects that stopping collusive “pay-for-delay” settlements between brand and generic pharmaceutical firms would save consumers $3.5 billion a year and also reap significant savings for the federal government, which pays […]

FTC Approves Final Consent Order in Matter of CVS Caremark Corporation

Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved a final consent order in the matter of CVS Caremark Corporation and authorized the staff to provide responses to the commenters of record. The vote approving the final order was 4-0. (FTC File No. 072-3119; the staff contact is Alain Sheer, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-2252; […]