February 22, 2013
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According to a press release issued by the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has temporarily halted an operation that allegedly used an intricate web of concealment to debit hundreds of thousands of consumers’ bank accounts and bill their credit cards more than $25 million without their consent. The court also froze the defendants’ assets and appointed a receiver to control the business pending trial.
The Complaint alleges that the corporate defendants and itsofficers and owners targeted financially vulnerable consumers who had never come in contact with them, and without authorization debited their bank accounts and charged their credit cards, usually for about $30. Those who disputed the charges were told they had purchased something, such as financial counseling or loan matching services, or assistance in completing a payday loan application. How the defendants got the consumers’ financial information is not known, but some consumers had recently applied for payday loans via the Internet, and entities that receive payday loan applications often sell the information to other parties.
The Complaint seeks restitution and injunctive relief against each of the defendants under the common enterprise theory.
To learn more about FTC litigation and defense, you can contact Reza Sina at reza@sinalawgroup.com or 213-417-3661. Sina Law Group represents individuals and businesses in all stages of enforcement actions brought by the FTC in federal courts nationwide, including defending allegations of false/misleading advertising and marketing, unlawful billing practices, telemarketing violations, and EFTA violations.