Consumers Affected
443,048
The FTC is distributing over $10.9 million in refunds to 443,048 consumers harmed by Financial Education Services (FES), a credit repair pyramid scheme that defrauded consumers through false promises of credit score fixes and illegal pyramid recruitment. The refunds follow a 2024 settlement with FES and its owners that banned them from fraudulent practices and required turnover of funds for consumer restitution.
Settlement requires FES and its owners to permanently end fraudulent credit repair and pyramid scheme practices, turn over funds to provide $10.9 million in refunds to 443,048 affected consumers, and imposes permanent bans on the owners from operating credit repair or similar services.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor agreements with financial service providers, particularly credit repair, debt relief, or consumer finance vendors, to ensure they prohibit pyramid scheme structures, false advertising of service outcomes, and unauthorized recruitment of customers as independent salespeople. Contracts should include explicit refund and restitution clauses, termination rights for fraudulent conduct, and representations warranties against deceptive marketing practices. For agreements with individual owners or operators, include non-compete and ban provisions aligned with regulatory restrictions on future participation in similar industries.
Entity
Financial Education Services (FES) d/b/a United Wealth Education, United Credit Education Services, Youth Financial Literacy Foundation
Industry
Financial Services"a credit repair operation known by multiple names including Financial Education Services (FES), United Wealth Education, United Credit Education Services, and Youth Financial Literacy Foundation"
"The FTC secured settlements with FES and its owners and operators in 2024"
"443,048 affected customers"
"preyed on consumers with low credit scores by luring them in with the false promise of an easy fix to their credit score and then recruiting them to join a pyramid scheme selling the credit repair services to others"
"requiring them to end their fraudulent practices and turn over funds for injured consumers"
"permanent bans for scammers behind sprawling credit repair pyramid scheme"
The FTC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on whether ad-optimization tools offered by online platforms may help scammers impersonate businesses and government agencies. This is a proposed regulatory inquiry, not an enforcement action against a named company; no penalty or remedy was imposed.
$2.5B
A federal court approved a revised order in the FTC's Amazon Prime case under which Amazon will accelerate and expand redress payments under the September 2025 $2.5 billion settlement, which resolved allegations that Amazon enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and knowingly made cancellation difficult. More consumers now qualify for refunds, the maximum payment cap rises from $51 to $200, and all future payments will be distributed automatically starting October 1, 2026, with potential supplemental $149 payments by April 2027. Amazon has already issued more than $845 million in redress payments as of September 2026.
$225.0M
The FTC and the state of Washington filed a joint complaint and proposed stipulated order requiring Amway Corp. and two affiliates—World Wide Group, L.L.C. (WWG) and Leadership Team Development Inc. (LTD)—to pay a $225 million judgment, the largest monetary recovery ever obtained from an MLM in an FTC action, over allegations that they used deceptive earnings claims and unfair tactics to recruit Independent Business Owners. The complaint alleges the companies falsely promised substantial income and recruitment success, pressured IBOs to buy products they could not resell, and instructed IBOs to falsely report sales. Nearly all of the judgment will be used as redress for IBOs who lost money, and the proposed order imposes structural reforms including a 70% resale requirement, independent audits of sales records, and a ban on approved providers charging new IBOs for first-year training.
$100.0M
FleetCor Technologies Inc. (now Corpay Inc.) and its CEO Ronald Clarke agreed to pay $100 million to settle an FTC administrative action alleging the company charged small business customers hidden and unauthorized fees for fuel cards and misrepresented gas savings, fraud-control features, and fees. A federal district court granted the FTC summary judgment on all counts in 2023, and a federal appeals court upheld that judgment and the permanent injunction in 2026. The settlement funds will be used to provide redress to harmed business customers.
FTC staff published FAQs on price transparency to help the automobile industry comply with the FTC Act, reiterating that an advertised vehicle price must be the actual price any consumer can pay, excluding only government-required charges. The guidance follows warning letters the FTC sent to 97 auto dealership groups earlier in 2026 and signals continued litigation against dealers that advertise one price but charge more through undisclosed fees. No specific entity was charged and no penalty was imposed.
The FTC rescinded its 2021 Policy Statement on Breaches by Health Apps and Other Connected Devices, which had purported to apply the Health Breach Notification Rule to health apps and connected devices that collect consumer health information. The rescission follows the Commission's 2024 update to the Health Breach Notification Rule, which already covers health apps and connected devices like fitness trackers, and implements an executive order directing agencies to eliminate obsolete guidance documents. No company was charged or penalized; this is a deregulatory action.