Question: Dear Steve, Thank you for your excellent reporting on Sanctuary Belize. A cousin of mine lost money in that deal, and I came across your website while googling the case. Two questions for you. First, this seems quite criminal in nature. Why haven’t the Feds come in and made arrests? In fact, another article …
Student loan debt relief scammer Brandon Frere and his companies, including Ameritech Financial, have entered into an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to settle charges they misled approximately 40,000 consumers about lowering their student loan debt. According to the FTC’s 2018 complaint, Brandon Frere and his companies sent personalized mail to consumers that falsely claimed …
Newly released data from the Federal Trade Commission reveal that there has been a surge in reports from people who say they lost money to a scam that started on social media, including a spike of these complaints in the spring at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data released by the FTC shows that …
Total refunds sent now total more than $300 million; future refund distributions are planned Approximately $147 million is being mailed to 33,000 consumers in the second distribution of refunds resulting from the law enforcement actions brought against Western Union by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Postal …
Atlanta-based company allegedly posed as police, made threats to consumers about non-existent debt A federal court has shut down an Atlanta-based debt collector in response to a Federal Trade Commission complaint alleging that its agents threatened consumers with arrest and imprisonment and tried to collect debts that consumers did not actually owe. The FTC’s complaint alleges …
Six former administrators from the Columbus, Georgia, campus of the Apex School of Theology were charged in an indictment unsealed Monday for their alleged participation in a scheme to defraud student loan programs. Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Charles Peeler of the Middle District of …
Online children’s education company Age of Learning, Inc., which operates ABCmouse, will pay $10 million and change its negative option marketing and billing practices to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it made misrepresentations about cancellations and failed to disclose important information to consumers, leading tens of thousands of people to be renewed and charged …
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to name celebrity real estate investment promoters Dean Graziosi and Scott Yancey as defendants in a case for their roles in a massive real estate training scheme that bilked consumers out of more than $400 million. Graziosi is known for his appearances in infomercials promoting his books on real estate …
A Florida attorney and former outside counsel for 1 Global Capital LLC (1 Global), has been charged today with conspiring to commit wire fraud and securities fraud in connection with an investment fraud scheme that as alleged impacted more than 3,600 investors in 42 different states, and involved him personally and fraudulently raising more than …
The Federal Trade Commission has added new charges and defendants to its ongoing case against the operators of multiple alleged pyramid schemes. In a case first filed in January, the FTC alleged that Success By Health and its executives James “Jay” Dwight Noland, Jr., Lina Noland, Scott A. Harris, and Thomas G. Sacca were operating …