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Other Federal Enforcement Actions

					
Numerous federal agencies have authority to institute enforcement proceedings against wrongdoers.  These agencies include:


    

  • The Department of the Treasury and its divisions including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), which is responsible for safeguarding the U.S. financial system from illicit use and money laundering including through enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which enforces economic and trade sanctions. Whistleblowers with knowledge of violations of the Bank Secrecy Act can submit a claim under the Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Program.  Violations of other laws enforced by the Department of Treasury may give rise to claims under different whistleblower reward programs.
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  • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is charged with preventing anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices. The FTC can bring enforcement actions under U.S. antitrust laws and to stop unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices. The FTC does not have any authority to pay financial rewards to whistleblowers; however, conduct that is regulated by the FTC may also give rise to a claim under a different whistleblower reward program.
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  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which regulates the offering and provision of consumer financial products or services under the federal consumer financial laws, and has the authority to bring enforcement actions against financial service providers. While the CFPB accepts tips from whistleblowers, and applicable laws offer whistleblowers protection from retaliation, there is currently no provision for CFPB whistleblowers to receive financial rewards. However, conduct that is regulated by the CFPB may also give rise to a claim under a different whistleblower reward program.
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  • The Environmental Protection Agency, which enforces federal environmental laws and regulations. The EPA does not currently have any authority to pay financial rewards to whistleblowers; however, conduct that is regulated by the EPA may also give rise to a claim under a different whistleblower reward program, and a number of federal environmental laws protect government or private employees reporting environmental violations under the statutes from retaliation.
    • 



Below are summaries of recent settlements and successful enforcement actions involving these agencies. If you believe you have information about fraud which could give rise to a claim under a whistleblower reward program, please contact us to speak with one of our experienced whistleblower attorneys.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
January 18, 2017

				 The CFPB sued the nation’s largest servicer of both federal and private student loans, Navient, for systematically and illegally failing borrowers at every stage by providing bad information, processing payments incorrectly, and failing to act when borrowers complained. Navient also used short cuts and deception to illegally cheat many struggling borrowers out of their rights to lower repayments. CFPB				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Education Fraud, 
													  Financial Institution Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 17, 2017

				 The FTC filed a complaint in federal district court charging Qualcomm Inc. with using anticompetitive tactics to maintain its monopoly in the supply of a key semiconductor device used in cell phones and other consumer products. Qualcomm is the world’s dominant supplier of baseband processors – devices that manage cellular communications in mobile products. The FTC alleges that Qualcomm has used its dominant position as a supplier of certain baseband processors to impose onerous and anticompetitive supply and licensing terms on cell phone manufacturers and to weaken competition. FTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 13, 2017

				 The FTC today announced a crackdown on two massive robocall telemarketing operations, both of which have been blasting robocalls to consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry since at least 2012. Many of the defendants in the two cases, FTC v. Justin Ramsey, et al. and FTC v. Aaron Michael Jones, et al., have agreed to court orders that permanently ban them from making robocalls, making any calls to numbers listed on the Do Not Call Registry, violating the TSR, and/or assisting others in doing so. The settling defendants also will pay the Commission a total of more than $500,000. FTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 10, 2017

				 The FTC is mailing checks to nearly 350,000 people who lost money running Herbalife businesses. The checks are the result of a July 2016 settlement with the FTC that required Herbalife to pay $200 million and fundamentally restructure its business. This represents one of the largest redress distributions the agency has made in any consumer protection action to date. FTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 9, 2017

				 The CFPB issued orders against two medical debt collection law firms and their president for falsely representing that letters and calls were from attorneys attempting to collect on a debt when no attorney had yet reviewed the account. The law firms also failed ensure the accuracy of the consumer information they furnished to credit reporting companies and used improperly notarized affidavits in lawsuits filed against consumers. The practices affected thousands of individuals. The CFPB is ordering Works and Lentz, Inc., Works and Lentz of Tulsa, Inc., and their president, Harry A. Lentz, Jr., to provide $577,135 in relief to harmed consumers, correct their business practices, and pay a $78,800 penalty. CFPB				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 3, 2017

				 The CFPB issued orders against Equifax, Inc., TransUnion, and their subsidiaries for deceiving consumers about the usefulness and actual cost of credit scores they sold to consumers. The companies also lured consumers into costly recurring payments for credit-related products with false promises. The CFPB ordered TransUnion and Equifax to truthfully represent the value of the credit scores they provide and the cost of obtaining those credit scores and other services. Between them, TransUnion and Equifax must pay a total of more than $17.6 million in restitution to consumers, and fines totaling $5.5 million to the CFPB. CFPB				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
December 22, 2016

				 The defendants who operated a Florida-based tech support scheme that the FTC and State of Florida charged deceived thousands of consumers, will pay $10 million for consumer redress to settle the action. According to the complaint, defendant Inbound Call Experts, doing business as Advanced Tech Support along with other defendants, used high-pressure sales pitches to telemarket tech support products and services falsely claiming to find viruses and malware on consumers’ computers. FTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Antitrust Enforcement, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
December 20, 2016

				 The CFPB sued Military Credit Services, LLC (MCS) for making loans with improper disclosures. This is the CFPB’s second enforcement action against MCS. In 2014, the CFPB and the states of North Carolina and Virginia sued the company for similar violations, and MCS was ordered to revise its contract disclosures in 2015. In today’s action, the CFPB ordered the company to ensure that its contracts comply with the law. It also required MCS to hire an independent consultant to review its practices and to pay a $200,000 civil penalty.  CFPB				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Housing and Mortgage Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
December 20, 2016

				 Turn Inc., a Redwood City, California company that enables sellers to target digital advertisements to consumers, has agreed to settle FTC charges that it deceived consumers by tracking them online and through their mobile applications, even after consumers took steps to opt out of such tracking. According to the FTC’s administrative complaint, Turn’s privacy policy represented that consumers could block targeted advertising by using their web browser’s settings to block or limit cookies. In fact, the complaint alleges that Turn used unique identifiers to track millions of Verizon Wireless customers, even after they blocked or deleted cookies from websites.   FTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Antitrust Enforcement, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
December 19, 2016

				 The CFPB filed federal lawsuits against four Virginia pawnbrokers for deceiving consumers about the actual annual costs of their loans. Spotsylvania Gold & Pawn, Inc., Fredericksburg Pawn, Inc., Pawn U.S.A., Inc., and A to Z Pawn, Inc. allegedly broke the law by misstating the charges associated with pawn loans. The CFPB seeks to end the pawnbrokers’ illegal practices, get restitution for the consumers they harmed, and impose penalties.  CFPB				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Misrepresentations, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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