1,285 enforcement actions from 14 federal and state jurisdictions. Every event traced back to its official government source.
1,285
Total Actions
14
Jurisdictions
$35.3B+
Total Fines Tracked
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.
$140.0M
Consumer fraud enforcement action where the FTC settled with Air AI for misleading entrepreneurs with false earnings and refund guarantees. The company will be banned from marketing business opportunities and pay a suspended $18 million judgment with $50,000 for consumer relief. Violations included failure to provide required disclosures and false claims under the Telemarketing Sales Rule and Business Opportunity Rule.
$18.0M
Consumer fraud enforcement action where the FTC settled with Xponential Fitness for violating the Franchise Rule by misrepresenting key information to franchisees, including time to open and costs. The settlement includes a $17 million monetary judgment for redress and prohibits future misrepresentations.
$17.0M
The FTC and 11 states settled with Walmart for $100 million over deceptive earnings claims in its Spark Driver gig worker app, where drivers were misled about base pay, tips, and incentives. The settlement also addressed GLBA violations for failing to provide proper notice regarding the handling of drivers' financial information. Walmart must implement an earnings verification program and is banned from misrepresenting driver earnings.
$100.0M
Consumer fraud enforcement action where the FTC is distributing $23 million in refunds to investors defrauded by the Sanctuary Belize and Kanantik real estate schemes. The defendants deceived consumers about luxury amenities and resale potential, resulting in losses of over $100 million. This is the second round of refunds following a court judgment.
$22.9M
Consumer fraud case where the FTC settled with Growth Cave defendants for operating a deceptive business opportunity and credit repair scheme that cost consumers nearly $50 million. The settlement permanently bans them from such activities, requires asset liquidation to pay a $48.6 million judgment, and prohibits misleading earnings claims and AI use.
$48.6M
The FTC secured a $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon, including a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in consumer refunds, for enrolling millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without proper consent and designing a deliberately difficult cancellation process. The order requires Amazon to implement clear enrollment disclosures, an easy cancellation method, and cease the unlawful practices.
$1.0B
The FTC settled with Cognosphere LLC, developer of Genshin Impact, for violating COPPA by collecting personal information from children without parental consent and for deceptive practices regarding in-game loot box purchases. The company will pay $20 million in penalties and is banned from selling loot boxes to children under 16 without verifiable parental consent.
$20.0M
The FTC settled with Cognosphere, the developer of Genshin Impact, for violating COPPA by collecting children's data without parental consent and for using deceptive loot box practices that misled players about costs and odds. Cognosphere will pay a $20 million fine, be banned from selling loot boxes to teens under 16 without parental consent, and must implement various transparency and data deletion measures.
$20.0M
Consumer fraud case where the FTC settled with Invitation Homes for deceiving renters with undisclosed fees and unlawful charges, including hidden fees and unfair security deposit withholdings. The company must pay over $47.2 million in refunds to affected consumers and change its leasing practices.
$48.0M
The FTC finalized an order against Avast for selling consumers' web browsing data for advertising after promising privacy protection. Avast must pay $16.5 million, is banned from selling such data, must delete collected data, obtain consent, notify consumers, and implement a privacy program.
$16.5M
The FTC settled with Avast for deceiving customers by claiming its antivirus software blocked tracking while secretly collecting and selling browsing data. Avast must pay $16.5 million in refunds and is banned from such practices. The FTC is now processing claims for affected consumers.
$16.5M
The FTC and CFPB settled with Trans Union LLC and its subsidiary for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by including inaccurate and incomplete eviction records in tenant screening reports, harming consumers' ability to obtain housing. The settlement requires Trans Union to pay $15 million, with $11 million for consumer compensation and $4 million as a civil penalty, and to implement measures to ensure report accuracy and disclose data sources.
$15.0M
The FTC and DOJ charged Amazon with violating COPPA by indefinitely retaining children's Alexa voice recordings and failing to honor parents' deletion requests. Under a proposed consent decree, Amazon must pay $25 million, delete children's data, and implement privacy safeguards.
$25.0M
Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, violated children's privacy laws by collecting data from under-13 users without parental consent and used deceptive designs to trick users into unintended purchases. The FTC secured a $275 million civil penalty and $245 million in consumer refunds, with requirements to enhance privacy defaults, delete improperly collected data, implement a privacy program, and prohibit dark patterns and account locking for charge disputes.
$275.0M
The FTC and DOJ settled with MyLife.com, Inc. and its CEO for deceiving consumers with misleading background reports that falsely implied criminal records and for engaging in difficult-to-cancel subscription practices. MyLife violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, and Telemarketing Sales Rule. The settlement includes a permanent ban on negative option marketing, $33.9 million in judgments for consumer refunds, and a monitoring program.
$33.9M
The FTC settled with Vivint Smart Homes, Inc. for $20 million over allegations that the company misused consumer credit reports to secure financing for unqualified customers, harming consumers' credit. The FTC is now distributing approximately $500,000 in refunds to affected consumers.
$20.0M
The FTC settled with Vivint Smart Home, Inc. for misusing consumer credit reports to qualify customers for financing without permission, harming innocent third parties' credit. Vivint agreed to pay $20 million, with over $4.7 million for consumer compensation, and established a Customer Service Task Force.
$20.0M
The FTC settled with Midwest Recovery Systems for engaging in 'debt parking,' where it placed inaccurate debts on consumers' credit reports to force payment. The company collected over $24 million from such debts. The settlement requires it to delete all reported debts, stop the practice, and pay a $24.3 million monetary judgment.
$24.3M
The FTC charged Facebook with deceiving consumers about its privacy practices and violating a 2012 consent order. In July 2019, Facebook agreed to pay a $5 billion civil penalty and accept comprehensive new privacy restrictions.
$5.0B
All data sourced from official government enforcement pages.