The FTC settled allegations against Stormy Wellington, a high-level multilevel marketing (MLM) participant, for using false and unsubstantiated earnings claims to recruit new members for Total Life Changes and Farmasi MLMs. The stipulated final order prohibits Wellington from making deceptive earnings representations, requires written substantiation of all earnings claims, and mandates notification to her downline participants about the order’s prohibitions. No monetary penalty was imposed.
The stipulated order prohibits Wellington from misrepresenting potential or actual participant earnings, reasons for lack of compensation, or other material facts about MLM business ventures, including via images of luxury purchases or travel. She must substantiate all earnings claims with written evidence and provide such evidence to interested potential participants upon request. Additionally, she is required to notify all her downline MLM participants about the order’s prohibitions on deceptive earnings claims.
In-house legal teams at MLM companies, direct selling firms, or businesses using independent contractors for recruitment should review participant, influencer, and recruitment vendor agreements to prohibit deceptive or unsubstantiated earnings claims. Clauses governing income representations must require written substantiation of all earnings claims, limit statements to actual participant earnings data, and ban misleading implications of guaranteed income. Teams should also add clauses requiring participants to notify their downline of compliance orders, align agreements with mandatory income disclosure requirements, and include indemnification for deceptive earnings claims made by contractors. Marketing and advertising agreements with high-level recruiters should explicitly ban false earnings promises and require retention of substantiation records.
Entity
Stormy Wellington
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/04/ftc-takes-action-against-high-level-mlm-participant-who-deceived-workers-about-amount-money-they-can
2523145wellingtoncomplaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2523145wellingtoncomplaint.pdf
Wellington Order
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Wellington-Order.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Stormy Wellington"
"April 13, 2026"
"used false or baseless earning claims to recruit workers, most of whom did not earn any money from the venture."
"Wellington will be prohibited from misrepresenting or assisting others in misrepresenting how much money others can earn from various business ventures."
The FTC settled charges with data broker Kochava, Inc. and its subsidiary Collective Data Solutions (CDS) over allegations that they sold precise location data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices without consumer consent, enabling tracking of visits to sensitive locations like reproductive health clinics and places of worship. The settlement prohibits the companies from selling or sharing sensitive location data without affirmative express consumer consent, and imposes compliance requirements including a sensitive location data program, supplier consent assessments, incident reporting, and data retention schedules. No monetary penalty was imposed.
The FTC filed a complaint and obtained a temporary restraining order against six defendants operating a deceptive health care scheme that impersonated government and insurance carriers to sell fake comprehensive health plans. The defendants allegedly charged consumers without express informed consent, failed to disclose material terms including cancellation processes, and misled consumers into paying for inadequate coverage that left many with substantial medical debt. The FTC seeks refunds for affected consumers and alleges violations of the FTC Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule, Impersonation Rule, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
$140.0M
Following an FTC investigation, a federal court granted summary judgment against timeshare exit scheme operator Christopher Carroll, ordering him to pay $140 million total ($95 million in consumer redress, $45 million civil penalty) for defrauding consumers out of over $90 million. The scheme used deceptive direct mail and in-person pitches, falsely claimed affiliation with timeshare companies, failed to provide refunds, and violated the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule by forcing consumers to sign non-cancellable contracts. Carroll is also permanently banned from marketing timeshare exit services or engaging in deceptive door-to-door sales.
This press release announces the FTC's testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on April 15, 2026, outlining the agency's priorities including consumer privacy protection, competition enforcement, and implementation of the TAKE IT DOWN Act. No specific enforcement action against a private entity is announced in this release.
The FTC announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment on a potential nationwide rule to address unfair or deceptive fee practices by online food and grocery delivery platforms. The ANPRM covers requirements for disclosing total prices, fees, variable charges, price differentials, and promotion terms. Past FTC enforcement actions against Instacart and Grubhub for deceptive fee practices are cited as evidence of ongoing issues in the industry.
$868K
The FTC announced three separate settlements with companies making false 'Made in USA' claims: TouchTunes (electronic dartboards, $625k consumer redress), Americana Liberty and related parties (flags and flagpoles, $167,743 redress), and Oak Street Bootmakers (footwear, $75k redress). The companies violated the FTC Act, Made in USA Labeling Rule, and for Americana Liberty, the Textile Act and Rules, by making unqualified origin claims for products with significant imported components or wholly imported from China. Each settlement prohibits future misrepresentations of U.S. origin and requires consumer notices.