Michael Abdelmesseh and KMA Merchant Services LLC have agreed to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit for laundering credit card charges for Money Now Funding (MNF), a business opportunity scheme that falsely promised consumers they would make thousands of dollars helping small businesses get loans. In 2015, the MNF defendants were banned from selling business […]
Monthly Archives: March 2018
Community Newspaper Owner Oregon Lithoprint Inc. Settles Charges that It Restrained Competition in the Local Market for Foreclosure Notices
Oregon Lithoprint Inc., owner of the News-Register, a twice-weekly community newspaper based in Yamhill, Oreg., has agreed to settle FTC charges that it invited a competitor to collude in an arrangement to divide the market for placement of foreclosure notices. Oregon law requires that a party foreclosing on real estate must provide public notice of the […]
FTC and FCC to Host Joint Policy Forum and Consumer Expo to Fight the Scourge of Illegal Robocalls
The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission today announced two upcoming events aimed at furthering the fight against illegal robocalls and caller ID spoofing. The agencies will co-host a Policy Forum later this month and a Technology Expo in April. Unwanted calls — including illegal robocalls, spoofed calls, and telemarketing — are a […]
FTC and FCC Seek Exhibitors for an Expo Featuring Technologies to Block Illegal Robocalls
The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are seeking exhibitors for their joint Stop Illegal Robocalls Expo, which will be held Monday, April 23, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to noon in the FCC’s Pepco Edison Place Gallery at 702 8th St. NW, Washington, DC. The Stop Illegal Robocalls Expo will feature innovative technologies, […]
Ambulance Companies Air Medical Group Holdings, Inc. and AMR Holdco, Inc. Agree to Divest Air Ambulance Services in Hawaii as a Condition of Merger
Two providers of ambulance services have agreed to divest inter-facility air ambulance transport services in Hawaii to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their proposed merger would likely harm competition among air ambulance transport services that transfer patients between medical facilities on different Hawaiian islands. According to a complaint filed by the FTC, Air Medical […]
FTC to Host Workshop March 7 Examining the Contact Lens Marketplace and Proposed Changes to the Commission’s Contact Lens Rule
The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop on Wednesday, March 7, in Washington, DC, to examine the contact lens marketplace and proposed changes to the Commission’s Contact Lens Rule. The event is free and open to the public, and more details can be found in the press release announcing it and the agenda. WHAT: […]
Statement of Ian Conner, Deputy Director of FTC Bureau of Competition, on J.M. Smucker Co.’s Decision to Drop Proposed Acquisition of Conagra Brands, Inc.
Following today’s announcement by J.M Smucker, Ian Conner, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition, made this statement: “Today’s announcement from Smucker and Conagra that they will abandon their proposed merger is good news for consumers across the United States because they will continue to reap the benefits of vigorous competition in the market for […]
FTC to Hold Twitter Chat on 20th Anniversary of COPPA
The Federal Trade Commission will host a Twitter chat to discuss the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Acting FTC Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen will discuss the FTC’s work to enforce COPPA and ensure the FTC’s rule implementing the law stays in step with evolving technologies and data […]
FTC Obtains Court Order Against Final Defendant in Phantom Debt Scheme
The final defendant in an operation that posed as lawyers and falsely threatened to sue people or have them arrested for failing to pay on debts they did not owe is banned from the debt collection business under a recently entered court order. At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, the federal court entered a default […]
FTC Challenges Proposed Acquisition of Conagra’s Wesson Cooking Oil Brand by Crisco owner, J.M. Smucker Co.
The Federal Trade Commission today filed an administrative complaint charging that J.M. Smucker Co.’s proposed $285 million acquisition of Conagra Brands, Inc.’s Wesson cooking oil brand “is likely ‘substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly’ in violation of the Clayton Act;” and thereby reduce competition in the United States for canola […]