Misrepresentations

December 18, 2015

J.P. Morgan Chase Bank agreed to pay $100 million -- $40 million as a penalty and $60 million in disgorgement -- to settle allegations that it failed to disclose its preferences for investing client funds in certain investment vehicles.  CFTC

December 17, 2015

The CFPB ordered CarHop, one of the country’s biggest “buy-here, pay-here” auto dealers, and its affiliated financing company, Universal Acceptance Corporation, to cease their illegal activities and pay a $6,465,000 civil penalty for providing damaging, inaccurate consumer information to credit reporting companies. CFPB

December 7, 2015

The CFPB filed a proposed consent order that would require EOS CCA, a Massachusetts debt collection firm, to overhaul its debt collection practices, refund at least $743,000 to consumers, and pay a $1.85 million civil money penalty for (1) reporting and collecting on old cellphone debt that consumers disputed and EOS CCA did not verify and (2) providing inaccurate information to credit reporting companies about the debt and failing to correct reported information that it had determined was inaccurate. CFPB

December 7, 2015

- Garen Ovsepyan of Glendale, California, and his companies Sharpe Signa, LLC and Haeres Capital, LLC have agreed to pay a $70,000 penalty to settle charges that they made false statements to the CFTC in their notices of exemption from registration and for engaging in foreign currency solicitation fraud.  CFTC

December 3, 2015

The CFPB ordered a nationwide credit reporting company, Clarity Services, Inc., to pay an $8 million penalty, halt its illegal practices, and improve the way it investigates consumer disputes and obtains, sells, and resells consumer credit reports. The company had illegally obtained consumer credit reports and failed to appropriately investigate consumer disputes. CFPB

November 18, 2015

The CFPB filed an administrative lawsuit against an online lender, Integrity Advance, LLC, and its CEO, James R. Carnes, for deceiving consumers about the cost of short-term loans. The suit seeks redress for harmed customers, injunctive relief, and a civil monetary penalty. CFPB

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

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 16, 2015

The operators of a fraudulent debt collection scheme will be banned from the debt collection business under a settlement with the FTC, resolving charges that they illegally processed more than $5.2 million in payments from consumers for payday loan debts they did not owe. The settlement resolves a complaint the FTC filed against Kirit Patel, Broadway Global Master Inc., and In-Arabia Solutions Inc. In 2012, alleging that callers working with the defendants harassed consumers into paying on bogus debts, often pretending to be agents of law enforcement or fake government agencies such as the “Federal Crime Unit of the Department of Justice.” FTC