Other Federal Enforcement

April 20, 2015

The FTC announced that Cardinal Health, Inc. has agreed to resolve charges that it illegally monopolized 25 local markets for the sale and distribution of low-energy radiopharmaceuticals and forced hospitals and clinics to pay inflated prices for these drugs. The proposed stipulated order requires Cardinal to pay $26.8 million of ill-gotten gains and represents the second largest monetary settlement the FTC has obtained in an antitrust case. The order also includes provisions to prevent future violations and restore competition in six markets where Cardinal remains the dominant radiopharmacy. FTC

April 20, 2015

The FTC has approved a final consent order with AmeriFreight, an automobile shipment broker, which stops the company from touting its highly rated online reviews while failing to disclose that the company compensated consumers to write them. According to the FTC’s complaint, AmeriFreight represented that its online reviews were those of satisfied customers, but failed to disclose that AmeriFreight compensated the reviewers with discounts and incentives. AmeriFreight gave consumers $50 discounts to write favorable reviews, and offered consumers the chance to win an additional $100 if their review was selected for a monthly prize. FTC

April 7, 2015

Network Solutions LLC has agreed to settle FTC charges that it misled consumers who bought its web hosting services by promising a full refund if they canceled within 30 days. In reality, the company withheld substantial cancellation fees from most refunds. In an administrative complaint, the FTC alleged that Network Solutions offered web hosting packages with a “30 Day Money Back Guarantee,” but did not adequately disclose that it withheld part of the refund – up to 30 percent – from customers who cancelled within 30 days of buying an annual or multi-year package and registering an included domain name. FTC

April 6, 2015

A U.S. district court has ruled that LeadClick Media, an affiliate marketing network, and its parent company, CoreLogic, Inc., must turn over $16 million in ill-gotten gains they received from a deceptive marketing scheme that sold purported weight-loss products. In granting the FTC’s request for summary judgment, the court ruled that LeadClick was responsible for the false claims made by affiliate marketers it recruited on behalf of LeanSpa, LLC, a company that sold acai berry and “colon cleanse” weight-loss products. According to the FTC’s Complaint, LeanSpa used a “free trial” ploy to enroll consumers into its recurring purchase program that cost $79.99 a month and that was difficult to cancel. FTC

March 31, 2015

The FTC has entered into a settlement with Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc., the Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County, and HCA Inc. resolving the Commission’s charge that the Hospital Authority’s acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital, Inc. from HCA Inc. – which created an effective hospital monopoly in the Albany, Georgia area – was anticompetitive. This consent agreement follows a significant Supreme Court victory in 2013 that reaffirmed the narrow scope of state action immunity and allowed the Commission to challenge this transaction. Due to the unavailability of structural relief, the consent does not require a divestiture. FTC

March 27, 2015

The FTC mailed 358 refund checks totaling $939,207 to consumers who lost money after paying performance deposits to become business or sales consultants to National Business Consultants, Inc. and its owner, Robert Namer. According to the FTC, the company falsely told consumers, among other things, that they provide consulting assignments, so consumers do not have to market their own services, that their consultants and sales consultants were likely to earn between $35,000 and $100,000 per year through their program, and that the company would refund deposits to consultants who earn a specific amount of money within a certain time frame. FTC

March 20, 2015

The FTC mailed 10,620 refund checks totaling more than $416,000 to consumers who lost money buying two skin creams marketed by L’Occitane, Inc., which falsely claimed the creams had “body slimming” capabilities. The refunds are being made from money collected under a January 2014 settlement order with the company, which also agreed to stop making deceptive claims that its Almond Beautiful Shape and Almond Shaping Delight skin creams have body-slimming capabilities and are clinically proven. FTC

March 18, 2015

The FTC mailed 17,606 refund checks totaling $954,828 to consumers who lost money buying a supposedly superior calcium supplement, AdvaCAL, marketed by Lane Labs-USA Inc. The refunds are being made from money collected under a 2010 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling and 2011 district court decision finding Lane Labs in contempt of a 2000 order, based on the company’s false and unsubstantiated claims for the supplement. Lane Labs claimed that AdvaCAL was the only calcium supplement that could increase bone density, and was on par or superior to prescription drugs used to treat osteoporosis. FTC

March 11, 2015

The FTC charged DIRECTV, the country’s largest provider of satellite television services, with deceptively advertising a discounted 12-month programming package because it failed to clearly disclose that the package requires a two-year contract. In addition, DIRECTV did not clearly disclose that the cost of the package will increase by up to $45 more per month in the second year, and that early cancellation fees of up to $480 apply if consumers cancel the package before the end of the two-year period. FTC

March 5, 2015

A direct marketing company, Allstar Marketing Group, LLC, selling “as-seen-on-TV” type products such as Snuggies and the Magic Mesh door cover, has agreed to pay $7.5 million to the FTC for consumer restitution to settle charges in connection with its deceptive “buy-one-get-one-free” promotions. The FTC’s settlement was reached alongside a separate action by the New York State Office of the Attorney General. FTC