The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it has filed proposed orders against the owners and operators of Financial Education Services (FES), a credit repair operation accused of running a pyramid scheme and...more
The FTC has shut down Michigan-based Financial Education Services, a credit repair company that the agency says actually was a large pyramid scheme...more
New York AG Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies Nova Tech, Ltd and AWS Mining Pty Ltd., along with their founders and promoters, alleging that the companies operated illegal pyramid and Ponzi...more
The first part of the webinar was led by Foley partner Ed Burbach, lead counsel to Neora, and Neora’s co-CEO Deborah Heisz as they shared learnings from Neora’s historic 7-and-a-half-year battle and eventual victory over the...more
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates the stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission brought charges against Xue Samuel Lee, the co-founder of HyperFund, and Brenda Indah Chunga, also known as “Bitcoin Beautee,” the fund’s top promoter, for securities violations. ...more
Three Men Sentenced for $54 Million TRICARE Fraud Scheme - Three men were sentenced in connection with a $54 million bribery and kickback scheme involving TRICARE, a federal program that provides health insurance benefits...more
CSPI Urges Food Retailers, Congress to Make SNAP Decisions - Marketing is as important as availability, food study finds - Keep Your Government Hands off Our Food Stamps! SNAP—or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance...more
Affinity fraud is a type of investment fraud. In this form of fraud, the person committing the fraud preys upon members of an identifiable group, such as a religious or ethnic community, the elderly, or a professional group....more
If we look at recent Supreme Court decisions, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a pretty dismal record, with well-publicized losses in AMG and Axon. At the district court level, however, things are quite different; we...more
In November 2019, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against direct selling wellness company Neora, LLC (f/k/a Nerium International, LLC) and its Chief Executive Officer alleging that the company operates as an...more
“Blessing Loom” Scheme Unravels in FTC Settlement - Esoteric trappings can’t save pyramid-scheme-by-another-name - Neolawgism - By certain ironclad laws of demography, we aren’t allowed to add terms to the...more
On August 14, 2023, in a rare whistleblower award opinion, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) denial of a whistleblower award in Granzoti v. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2023...more
Welcome to Wiley’s update on recent developments and what’s next in consumer protection at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In this newsletter, we analyze recent regulatory...more
Here are curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: • Republican and Democratic AGs Duel on Plastic Pollution...more
Last week, BINT Operations LLC aka “Blessings in No Time” (“BINT”) and its owners resolved two separate, but coordinated, lawsuits stemming from states’ and the FTC’s investigations alleging perpetration of an illegal pyramid...more
Arkansas AG Tim Griffin and the FTC settled with BINT Operations LLC and two of its officers (collectively, “BINT”) to resolve allegations that the company violated federal and state consumer protection laws by running a...more
Don’t Look Dumb, Dude; You Sound Dumb - Is this one of those pyramid things? Hell, yeah, it is. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it. Do I look dumb enough to go get a job again? Well... According to a recent...more
This summer was a busy one for cryptocurrency regulators, with aggressive actions potentially signaling an increase in consumer protection compliance activity. In August alone, the New York Department of Financial Services...more
Fed decision week delivered the next 75 bps ratchet up in short-term rates to 3.25% at the top end of the target range, but also an upwards revision in the dot plot to now show a median expectation of a 4.4% fed funds rate by...more
In the 1920s, a new form of investment fraud roared into the markets with the advent of the Ponzi scheme. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint captioned SEC v. Okhotnikov et al. in the...more
Here are last week’s curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: •AG Bonta Shares Proposed Regulations For...more
The FTC has obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Financial Education Services, Inc., its owners, and five other affiliated entities (collectively the “Credit Repair Parties” or “CRPs”) for allegedly operating...more
Ephemeral messaging applications are considered solutions for data protection and privacy concerns (Blink, And I’m Gone: E-Discovery Challenges and Considerations With Ephemeral Messaging). However, courts are wary of...more
It’s never been a better time to shop, work or spend leisure time at home – the internet and television are flooded with advertisements for amazing products with the ability to improve our lives and make things easier....more