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July 14, 2016

Following a public comment period, the FTC has approved a final consent order against Progressive Chevrolet Company and Progressive Motors Inc., of Massillon, Ohio, which the FTC charged with deceiving consumers by using advertising that touted low monthly car lease payments and down payments but failed to disclose other key terms of the offers.

July 11, 2016

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc. has settled FTC charges that it deceived consumers during a marketing campaign for the video game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, by failing to adequately disclose that it paid online 鈥渋nfluencers,鈥� including the wildly popular 鈥淧ewDiePie,鈥� thousands of dollars to post positive gameplay videos on YouTube and social media. Over the course of the campaign, the sponsored videos were viewed more than 5.5 million times.

June 28, 2016

In two related settlements, one with the United States and the State of California, and one with the FTC, German automaker Volkswagen AG and related entities have agreed to spend up to $14.7 billion to settle allegations of cheating emissions tests and deceiving customers. Volkswagen will offer consumers a buyback and lease termination for nearly 500,000 model year 2009-2015 2.0 liter diesel vehicles sold or leased in the U.S., and spend up to $10.03 billion to compensate consumers under the program. In addition, the companies will spend $4.7 billion to mitigate the pollution from these cars and invest in green vehicle technology.

June 22, 2016

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing checks totaling approximately $6.3 million to consumers who bought Kevin Trudeau鈥檚 book, 鈥�The Weight Loss Cure 鈥楾hey鈥� Don鈥檛 Want You to Know About.鈥� In 2009, a federal judge ordered Trudeau to repay millions of dollars to consumers after he violated a 2004 FTC stipulated order by misrepresenting the book鈥檚 content.

June 20, 2016

The defendants behind a tech scam have agreed to settle FTC and State of Florida charges that they scammed thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars by selling them bogus technical support services. Under the settlement, Vast Tech Support, LLC and OMG Tech Help, LLC and their chief operating officer, Mark Donohue are prohibited from misleading consumers about the nature of the products they sell or market, as well as from deceptive telemarketing. The FTC鈥檚 complaint alleges that the defendants used software designed to trick consumers into thinking there were problems with their computers, and directed consumers to telemarketers who subjected those consumers to high-pressure deceptive sales pitches for tech support products and services.

June 14, 2016

The FTC is mailing 191,748 refund checks totaling $9,190,842.68 to consumers who bought Pure Health or Genesis Today green coffee bean extract weight-loss supplements. Consumers who purchased the products online will receive a full refund, with the average check totaling $47.93. Consumers who bought the supplements in a retail store such as Walmart did not receive a check in this mailing. These consumers can file a claim form with the FTC, and may be eligible for a partial refund.

June 3, 2016

The FTC charged a nationally advertised gold and silver marketing operation with bilking millions from consumers. According to the FTC鈥檚 complaint, the defendants marketed gold and silver as investments, but often failed to deliver the goods. Operating as Discount Gold Brokers, the defendants offered gold and silver 鈥渁t discounted prices,鈥� with 鈥渮ero commissions, fees, or expenses,鈥� and at 鈥渮ero percent above dealer cost.鈥� In response, many consumers used their retirement savings to buy the precious metals, with individual orders ranging from $1,000 to $300,000.

May 25, 2016

The FTC and the State of Florida have taken action against the Consumer Assistance LLC, Consumer Assistance Project Corp. and Palermo Global LLC with running phony student loan debt relief schemes, and defendants in a similar FTC action brought earlier this year have agreed to a ban on participating in any debt relief business, as part of a consumer protection crackdown to combat such frauds. 鈥淭he FTC is not going to stand on the sidelines when it uncovers evidence of fraudsters targeting students,鈥� said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC鈥檚 Bureau of Consumer Protection. 鈥淐onsumers should be wary of any company that claims it can eliminate or greatly reduce debt, especially if they ask for money in advance.鈥�

May 20, 2016

Lunada Biomedical, Inc. and its three principals have settled FTC charges that they deceptively marketed Amberen, a dietary supplement, to women over 40 who are perimenopausal or menopausal, making a range of unsupported claims about its ability to help users lose weight and belly fat, and relieve menopause-related symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats. 鈥淭he Lunada defendants made strong claims about the effectiveness of their supplement without the scientific evidence to back them up,鈥� said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC鈥檚 Bureau of Consumer Protection. 鈥淭he relief provided by this court order is intended to prevent the defendants from making unsupported health benefit claims in the future.鈥�

May 18, 2016

The developers and marketers of the LearningRx 鈥渂rain training鈥� programs have agreed to stop making a range of false and unsubstantiated claims and pay $200,000 under a settlement with the FTC. According to the FTC鈥檚 complaint, LearningRx Franchise Corp. and its CEO, Dr. Ken Gibson, deceptively claimed that their programs were clinically proven to permanently improve serious health conditions like ADHD, autism, dementia, Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, strokes, and concussions and that the training substantially improved school grades and college admission test scores, career earnings, and job and athletic performance.