Other Federal Enforcement

December 1, 2015

Athletic apparel company Tommie Copper, Inc. and its founder have agreed to pay $1.35 million to settle FTC charges that they deceptively advertised the company’s copper-infused compression clothing would relieve severe and chronic pain and inflammation caused by arthritis and other diseases. Tommie Copper’s proposed settlement with the FTC also requires the company and its founder and chairman Thomas Kallish to have competent and reliable scientific evidence before making future claims about pain relief, disease treatment, or health benefits. FTC

November 13, 2015

A federal court granted a request by the FTC to shut down a tech support scam that allegedly bilked consumers out of more than $17 million by pretending to represent Microsoft, Apple and other major tech companies. According to a complaint filed by the FTC, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and State of Connecticut Office of Attorney General, the defendants in the case used internet advertisements and popups that appeared to be from well-known technology companies to lure consumers into calling them. FTC

November 11, 2015

The FTC filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop a dietary supplement marketer from making misleading claims that its product can help treat and even cure people who are addicted to opiates, including prescription pain medications and illegal drugs such as heroin. According to the FTC’s complaint against Sunrise Nutraceuticals, LLC, the company, based in Boca Raton, Florida, deceptively claims that its dietary supplement Elimidrol, a “proprietary blend” of herbs and other compounds, alleviates opiate withdrawal symptoms and increases a user’s likelihood of overcoming opiate addiction. FTC

November 2, 2015

Following a public comment period, the FTC has approved a final consent order with Nice-Pak Products, Inc., requiring it to stop advertising moist toilet tissue and cloth as flushable or safe for sewer or septic systems unless it can substantiate those claims. FTC

October 26, 2015

The operators of an advance fee recovery scheme that falsely claimed it could recover money for consumers that they had lost to telemarketing scams will be banned from selling recovery services, and from telemarketing, under a court order. The court order resolves a 2014 FTC complaint that charged Consumer Collection Advocates and Michael Robert Ettus with illegally collecting money from consumers, many of them elderly people harmed by timeshare resale and precious metal investment frauds. FTC

October 20, 2015

The operators of an alleged tech support scam, Pairsys, Inc., agreed to settle FTC charges that they tricked consumers into paying millions of dollars for technical support services they did not need and software that was otherwise free. Under the settlement, the company and its owners, Tiya Bhattachara and Uttam Saha, are required to turn over multiple real estate properties as well as the contents of numerous bank accounts, and to give up the leases on two luxury cars. FTC

October 15, 2015

An orthopedic practice in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Keystone Orthopaedic Specialists, LLC, has agreed to settle FTC charges that a merger created through a combination of six independent orthopedic practices in 2011 was anticompetitive. The FTC alleged that the merger combined 19 of the 25 orthopedists in Berks County into a single practice, giving Keystone a 76 percent share of the market for orthopedic physician services and substantially reducing competition for such services in Berks County. FTC

October 5, 2015

The head of a sham debt relief operation agreed to a judgment of more than $7.9 million to settle FTC charges that he deceived consumers and charged them thousands of dollars while providing nothing in return. In a complaint filed in May 2014, the FTC alleged that the DebtPro 123 LLC defendants falsely told consumers their programs would settle all of their debts and repair their credit. Then they told them to stop paying and communicating with creditors, which led to more debt and worse credit because of accrued interest, late charges, creditor lawsuits, garnished wages, and sometimes bankruptcy. FTC

October 1, 2015

The FTC is mailing 23,406 checks totaling more than $3.7 million to consumers who lost money after buying LeanSpa, a supplement whose marketers allegedly made deceptive weight-loss claims. The FTC and the State of Connecticut sued the marketers of LeanSpa in December 2011, charging that they used fake websites to promote acai berry and “colon cleanse” weight-loss products, and falsely told consumers they could receive free trials by paying a nominal shipping and handling cost. In reality, consumers ended up paying $79.95 for the trial, and for recurring monthly shipments of the product that were hard to cancel. FTC

September 29, 2015

The FTC is mailing 6,832 checks totaling more than $1.1 million to consumers who lost money to a health insurance scam. In 2012, the FTC charged the Independent Association of Businesses and Health Service Providers defendants with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule by deceiving consumers seeking comprehensive health insurance. Instead of health coverage, consumers received membership in IAB, an obscure trade association that provided purported discounts on services such as identity-theft protection, travel, and roadside assistance, and some healthcare related benefits that were subject to broad exclusions and limitations. FTC