Below are announcement from the Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Branch about its work in September: Dual Jamaican-U.S. Citizen Pleads Guilty in Connection with Jamaica-Based Lottery Fraud Scheme (9/28/16) Woman Sentenced for Impersonating FBI Agent in Connection with Lottery Fraud Scheme Based in Jamaica (9/27/16) Justice Department and Law Enforcement Partners Announce Civil and Criminal […]
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More Wells Fargo news this week: Wells Fargo will pay $4.1 million to settle Justice Department charges that it seized 413 cars owned by service members without a court order, a violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The illegal repossessions took place from 2008 to 2015. The relief includes payments to each affected service […]
In a regulation issued today, for publication early next week in the Federal Register, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services have banned nursing homes that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs from entering into predispute arbitration agreements with patients. The Centers had proposed only to […]
by Paul Alan Levy My friends know that one of my main passions outside of work is soccer; I root for various teams abroad, for the US national teams, and especially for my home team, DC United; I even travel to away games (including the World Cups in South Africa and Brazil). So when an […]
by Paul Alan Levy The New York Times carries a story this morning about patient advocacy groups that do not speak out on high drug prices because they are dependent on financial support from the companies that charge those prices. Making me extra grateful for Public Citizen's stringent policy against accepting money from companies.
by Paul Alan Levy Late yesterday, we filed an application for an award of attorney fees and sanctions, seeking a six-figure award against Prestigious Pets, the Dallas pet-sitting firm whose suit for breach of a nondisparagement clause was dismissed last month under the Texas anti-SLAPP statute (the Texas Citizens Participation Act). I hate to have […]
The L.A. Times has an excellent article adding to the coverage about Wells Fargo’s use of forced arbitration clauses and how the clauses allowed the bank to deflect consumer fraud allegations over its employees’ practice of opening bogus customer accounts. The article gives important attention to the bank’s inclusion of delegation clauses in its arbitration […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday sued the credit repair company Prime Marketing Holdings, LLC, which the CFPB alleges charged consumers a series of illegal advance fees and misrepresented the cost and effectiveness of its services. The CFPB is seeking to halt the company’s harmful conduct and to obtain relief for consumers, including refunds […]
The Federal Trade Commission issued a few press releases last Thursday and Friday that may be of interest: FTC Wins Summary Judgment against Marketers of Supplement That Claimed To Prevent or Reverse Gray Hair (Sept. 23) FTC Action: Court Bans Mortgage Relief Scammers from Debt Relief Business (Sept. 22) FTC Charges Fake Prize Scheme Operators […]
by Paul Alan Levy In Doe v. Coleman, a decision issued yesterday, the Kentucky Supreme Court overruled a decision of the state court of appeals which, considering the validity of a subpoena to identify defendants who had been sued for defamation based on comments about a local official, had held that the plaintiff officials’ conclusory […]