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"
$49.8M
The FTC and four states alleged that Progress Residential and Pretium Partners misled renters about rental prices and fees, improperly withheld security deposits, and engaged in other unlawful conduct. Under a proposed settlement, the companies will pay $49.75 million and must change their pricing, deposit, and customer-service practices.
The FTC and 22 state attorneys general filed an updated complaint alleging that Amazon secretly added surcharges to advertising auction prices and misled advertisers about the reasons for price increases. The release describes newly unredacted allegations; it does not report a judgment, settlement, or monetary penalty.
$600K
The FTC and Washington alleged that Riverside Payments and affiliates misrepresented savings and cancellation terms, concealed fees and auto-renewing contracts, and obtained consumers’ financial information using false or fraudulent statements. The proposed stipulated order requires a $600,000 payment, customer notice and a period to rescind agreements without penalty, and prohibits deceptive claims while requiring clear disclosures, informed consent for negative-option billing, and a simple cancellation method.
FTC staff announced warning letters to 25 healthcare plan marketers and lead generators about deceptive or unfair claims concerning plan benefits, coverage, costs, and enrollment incentives. The letters do not allege wrongdoing by their recipients or impose penalties; they encourage companies to review their advertisements for compliance.
The FTC summarized enforcement actions and other efforts targeting businesses and individuals allegedly impersonating government agencies or legitimate businesses. The release reports more than $80 million in consumer redress across prior actions and takedowns of 19 websites, but it does not announce a new settlement or impose a specific penalty.
The FTC and state and local co-plaintiffs filed a lawsuit alleging Toast imposed hidden and unauthorized fees, enrolled restaurants in add-ons without consent, obstructed subscription cancellations, and misrepresented customer support availability. The complaint is pending in federal court; the press release announces no monetary penalty or imposed remedy.