Penalty Amount
$1,500,000
The FTC alleged that Publishing.com LLC and its principals misled consumers with unsubstantiated earnings claims about their self-publishing programs, failed to disclose material connections with testimonial writers, and imposed hidden conditions on refund requests. The company agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty and is subject to a proposed consent order prohibiting deceptive earnings claims, misrepresentations about refunds, and undisclosed endorsements. The consent agreement is subject to a 30-day public comment period before becoming final.
Publishing.com LLC and its principals must pay a $1.5 million civil penalty. The proposed consent order prohibits the company and individuals from making unsubstantiated or misleading earnings claims, deceptive misrepresentations about products or services, failing to disclose refund policy terms, and making misrepresentations about endorsements. The order also requires full disclosure of any material connections with endorsers or incentives for positive reviews, and mandates prompt honor of valid refund requests per company policy.
In-house legal teams should review customer-facing terms of service and refund policies to ensure all refund conditions are clearly disclosed upfront, avoiding buried fine print that restricts consumers’ ability to obtain refunds as required by the FTC’s order. Marketing and influencer vendor agreements must include clauses mandating disclosure of material connections (e.g., employment, familial ties, financial incentives) and prohibiting undisclosed incentivized testimonials. Employee agreements should be updated to ban staff from providing biased, undisclosed testimonials for the company’s products. All marketing vendor contracts should require representations and warranties that earnings claims are substantiated, non-misleading, and have a reasonable basis, with indemnification for deceptive advertising violations.
Entity
Publishing.com LLC
Industry
EducationOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/04/publishingcom-pay-15-million-misleading-consumers-about-how-much-income-they-could-earn-using
2423055publishingcomcomplaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2423055publishingcomcomplaint.pdf
2423055publishingcomorder
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2423055publishingcomorder.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Publishing.com LLC"
"$1.5 million"
"April 13, 2026"
"the company and its operators misled consumers about how much money they were likely to earn using their products"
"failed to disclose when reviews were written by company employees or other people, including relatives of the Mikkelsens, who might be biased by their connection to the company"
"will pay $1.5 million"
$1.5M
The FTC finalized an order against Publishing.com LLC and its principals for misleading consumers about potential earnings from self-publishing products. The company will pay $1.5 million and must substantiate future earnings claims, and is prohibited from making misrepresentations about refunds and endorsements.
The FTC filed a complaint against Credit Glory LLC and related entities for deceptive credit repair practices, including false promises, impersonating debt collectors, charging illegal upfront fees, and using negative option billing without consent. A federal court temporarily halted the operation.
The FTC issued a policy statement abandoning disparate-impact liability, stating it will no longer bring claims based on this theory. It also modified compliance obligations for several companies based on past decisions.
The FTC, along with Utah and California, filed a complaint against Hims & Hers alleging the telehealth provider shared consumers' sensitive health information with third-party advertising platforms without consent, and deceived consumers about billing and cancellation practices. The complaint alleges violations of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act.
$300K
The FTC alleged that Elite Events and Tickets LLC, doing business as Smart Scalpers, violated the Better Online Ticket Sales Act by circumventing security measures to bypass ticket purchase limits for over 2,400 events, reselling tickets at a profit. The proposed order requires payment of $300,000 (with a total penalty of $10.7 million partially suspended) and permanently prohibits the company and its owners from engaging in such circumvention tactics.
$45.9M
The FTC permanently banned Dennise Merdjanian from the debt relief industry and telemarketing after she and Superior Servicing LLC allegedly ran a student loan forgiveness scam that took more than $45.9 million from consumers. The proposed stipulated order imposes a partially suspended monetary judgment and resolves the FTC's litigation against the remaining defendants.