By guest blogger Jessica Ranucci In comments filed last week, banking industry groups opposed proposed Department of Education regulations that would crack down on “college card agreements” between universities and banks that affect students who receive Title IV federal education funds. Twenty-five billion dollars in federal Pell Grant and Direct Loan funds is dispersed annually […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
July 1, 2015 – Virginia Resident Sentenced to Prison in Connection with Lottery Scheme Based in Jamaica June 26, 2015 – Former OtisMed CEO Sentenced for Selling Unapproved Surgical Devices June 26, 2015 – First Jamaican Man Extradited to United States in Connection with International Lottery Scheme Sentenced to Prison June 22, 2015 – California […]
The Hill reports: In a push to produce a more transparent regulatory process, federal agencies will review their standards for genetically engineered food, plants and animals, the White House announced on Thursday. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will update their “Coordinated Framework,” the regulatory […]
By guest blogger Jessica Ranucci The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed complaints last week against two companies that charge consumers for credit card add-ons — such as “credit monitoring” and “identify theft protection” — that the consumers never receive. The two companies, Affinion and Intersections, partnered with banks to sell add-on services. Fees were charged […]
By guest blogger Jessica Ranucci New York state officials announced today that a student loan debt relief provider is shutting down operations after an investigation by the state’s Student Protection Unit. The company, Inveractiv Edcuation, advertised that it could lower students’ monthly loan payments and charged borrowers upfront fees of up to $3,400 for its […]
The Food and Drug Administration has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking "seeking comments, data, research, and/or other information related to nicotine exposure warnings and child-resistant packaging for liquid nicotine, nicotine-containing e-liquid(s), and potentially for other tobacco products including, but not limited to novel tobacco products such as dissolvables, lotions, gels, and drinks." The […]
The LA Times reports: A federal appeals court Tuesday let stand a 2013 lower court ruling that concluded Apple conspired with several top book publishers to raise e-book prices. The Justice Department had accused Apple of unfairly taking control of a nascent market that had been dominated by Amazon.com. …. [The court] wrote that Apple […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced today: The Federal Trade Commission is mailing almost 95,000 checks totaling approximately $4 million to consumers who lost money to a debt collection operation that extorted payments from them using false threats. In May 2014, the FTC settled charges against Asset Capital and Management Group, which, under various names, illegally […]
The USDA just released a final rule that permits importing beef from Northern Argentina and parts of Brazil. Limitations on beef imports from these regions have been in place for decades as a safety measure designed to stop spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The United States eradicated the disease in 1929, but it remains common in […]
By guest blogger Katie Coulson On June 15, we blogged about PayPal's new user agreement. The new agreement includes expansive language giving PayPal the right to send autodialed or prerecorded calls on any subject to any phone number associated with a PayPal account. This change sparked outrage among PayPal users, and the FCC intervened. On […]