Government Enforcement Actions

February 11, 2015

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced Advance America will pay Pennsylvania consumers $8M in restitution as part of a settlement to resolve claims the company illegally provided payday loans, some with interest rates as high as 368 percent. PA

February 10, 2015

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, along with the Illinois Attorney General and 41 other attorneys general, asked nine oil companies to collaborate with their franchisees to help eliminate synthetic drugs from retail locations operating under their brand names, including gas station and convenience stores. Included among the oil companies addressed in the multi-state request are: British Petroleum, Chevron Corporation, Citgo Petroleum Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Phillips 66, Shell Oil Company, Sunoco, and Valero Energy Corporation. According to the attorneys general, many of the well-known retail gas stations and convenience stores operating under these brands give the appearance of safety and legitimacy to dangerous synthetic products sold there. FL

February 9, 2015

The FTC obtained a $9.5M judgment against sweepstakes promoter Crystal Ewing for deceptively enticing consumers in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom to send money to collect large cash prizes that, in fact, did not exist. FTC

February 9, 2015

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced a settlement of $105,000 with Massachusetts-based Integral Resources Inc. that allegedly solicited Ohioans for charitable donations while misleading consumers into thinking the calls were coming from a charity, versus a business. OH

February 9, 2015

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced felony charges against Khawaja Saud Masud for stealing over $1M from a retired pediatrician and his wife by fraudulently soliciting them to invest in his purported hedge fund RKS Capital, LP. NY

February 6, 2015

Minnesota-based medical device manufacturer Medtronic Inc. agreed to pay $2.8M to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by causing physicians to submit false claims to federal health care programs for investigational medical procedures known as “SubQ stimulations” that were not reimbursable. According to the government, Medtronic improperly promoted the procedure and the use of its spinal cord stimulation devices for the procedure even though its safety and efficacy had not been established by the FDA. The charges were first raised in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by former Medtronic sales representative Jason Nickell. He will receive a whistleblower award of $602,000. DOJ

February 5, 2105

A group of Utah-based defendants led by Philip J. Danielson and his company, Danielson Law Group, settled FTC charges that they broke the law by conning consumers into paying hefty fees for worthless mortgage relief services. The five proposed orders settling the FTC’s charges ban the defendants from offering mortgage assistance relief services and from participating in the debt relief industry. According to the FTC, defendants lured consumers into paying $500 to $3,900 by falsely promising that attorneys would negotiate loan modifications that would substantially reduce the consumers’ mortgage payments. The complaint also alleged that the defendants used the name Danielson Law Group and other attorney or law firm names to look like they had lawyers all over the country, even though many consumers never met or spoke to an attorney. FTC

February 5, 2015

The CFTC ordered Isaiah Goldman and Brock Catronio, individually, and their companies, Paramount Metals Exchange, LLC and Paramount Credit, LLC, both of Delray Beach, Florida, to pay over $2.5 million in sanctions for engaging in illegal, off-exchange precious metals transactions.  CFTC

February 4, 2015

The CFTC ordered Brian S. Ekasala, a resident of Lake Worth, Florida, and his company, Midwest Metals Exchange, LLC, to pay over $500,000 for engaging in an illegal, off-exchange precious metals transaction scheme.  CFTC

February 4, 2015

Chief Judge Linda R. Reade of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa ordered U.S. Bank National Association to pay $18 million dollars to be returned to Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. customers over allegations of misappropriation of customer funds.  CFTC