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.
$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.