Two California hospice facility owners were arrested today in Los Angeles on criminal charges related to their alleged participation in a kickback and health care fraud scheme. According to court documents, Oganes Doganyan, 49, of Northridge, and Kristine Arutyunyan, 38, of Glendale, paid illegal kickbacks for the referral of Medicare beneficiary information that could be …
The Federal Trade Commission obtained an order permanently banning a payment processor that facilitated a fraudulent student loan debt relief scheme from processing debt relief payments. The order also requires the company and its owner to surrender $500,000 to the FTC for consumer redress. The FTC’s complaint against Automatic Funds Transfer Services, Inc. (AFTS) and …
A three-count criminal indictment was unsealed yesterday in federal court in the Eastern District of New York charging Roberto Gustavo Cortes Ripalda, 54, of Madrid, Spain; Fernando Haberer Bergson, 48, of Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Ernesto Heraclito Weisson Pazmino, 53, of Miami, Florida, with conspiring to defraud investors and financial institutions as part of an …
A California-licensed homeopathic doctor was arrested recently for her alleged scheme to sell homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets and to falsify COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Moderna vaccine. Juli A. Mazi, 41, of Napa, is charged with one count of wire fraud and …
Made in USA labels will finally mean goods were made in America The Federal Trade Commission finalized a new rule that will crack down on marketers who make false, unqualified claims that their products are Made in the USA. Under the rule, marketers making unqualified Made in USA claims on labels should be able to …
The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $223,000 to people who lost money to a student loan and mortgage debt relief operation. The FTC alleged that A1 DocPrep Inc., Streamlined Marketing, and their owner, Horman Ardalan falsely claimed to be from the Department of Education, and promised to reduce borrowers’ monthly payments …
The Federal Trade Commission is sending checks totaling more than $316,000 to 10,689 people who lost money to a student loan debt relief scheme. In a complaint first announced in March 2020, the FTC alleged SLAC (which also used the name Aspyre), Navloan, and Student Loan Assistance Center, and their owner, Adam Owens, falsely told …
In a newly filed amended complaint, the Federal Trade Commission alleges that merchant cash advance provider RCG Advances and other defendants made multiple unauthorized withdrawals from small businesses’ banks, sometimes taking thousands of dollars more than the agreed repayment amount. The amended complaint also alleges that RCG, formerly known as Richmond Capital Group, LLC and …
Career Education Corporation refund distribution, averaging more than $3,700 per person, is the largest per person average in agency’s history The Federal Trade Commission is sending nearly $30 million in refunds to people tricked by agents working on behalf of Career Education Corporation (currently operating as Perdoceo Education Corporation), the operator of several post-secondary schools. …
Since October 2020, consumers have reported losing more than $80 million to cryptocurrency investment scams, an increase of more than ten-fold year-over-year, according to a new data analysis from the Federal Trade Commission. In a new consumer protection data spotlight, the FTC breaks down the contents of nearly 7,000 reports received from consumers about these …