Category Monitor
Federal Trade Commission consumer protection settlements.
The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order resolving antitrust concerns related to a deal between Valvoline Inc. and private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Fund V., L.P. (Greenbriar). View Press Release.
Data could be used to trace movements of individuals, FTC alleged The Federal Trade Commission will prohibit data broker Kochava and its subsidiary from selling, sharing or disclosing sensitive location data without consumers’ affirmative express consent to settle allegations the companies sold location data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that could be used to trace the movements of individuals. View Press Release.
365 Retail will be required to divest Cantaloupe’s Three Square Market business to merge with Cantaloupe under proposed FTC order Today, the Federal Trade Commission took action to protect Americans from rising food prices by requiring 365 Retail Markets LLC (365 Retail)—the nation’s largest provider of micromarket kiosks—to divest a competing business to complete its $848 million acquisition of Cantaloupe Inc. View Press Release.
FTC order settling the agency’s allegations will prohibit Steven and Gina Merritt from making deceptive earnings claims The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against high-level participants in a multilevel marketing (MLM) company over allegations they used false or baseless earning claims to recruit workers, most of whom did not earn any money. View Press Release.
Following an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has ordered one of the key operators of a timeshare exit operation to pay $140 million and has permanently banned him from marketing similar services in the future over allegations the scheme defrauded consumers—mostly older adults—out of more than $90 million. The court granted summary judgment to the Department of Justice and state of Wisconsin against the last remaining defendant in the case, Christopher Carroll, one of the top operators of the scheme. The court ordered Carroll to pay $95 million in redress to consumers and a $45 million civil penalty, which by law goes to the U.S. Treasury. In November 2022, the Department of Justice, on behalf of the FTC, and the state of Wisconsin sued a company going by the name “Consumer Law Protection” and related companies, along with Carroll and other owners and operators: George Reed, Louann Reed, Scott Jackson, and Eduardo Balderas. Carroll served as president and CEO of the Square One Group, one of the corporations the defendants used to perpetrate their scheme, along with Consumer Law Protection, Premier Reservations Group, Resort Transfer Group and Timeshare Help Source. The scheme used direct mail and in-person presentations to make an array of deceptive claims to pressure consumers into paying for timeshare exit services. These included falsely claiming to be associated with timeshare companies; falsely telling consumers that they couldn’t exit a timeshare without paying the defendants’ exorbitant fees; failing to provide promised refunds; and forcing consumers to sign contracts that they were told they couldn’t cancel in violation of the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule, which guarantees consumers the right to cancel a door-to-door sales contract within three business days of the sale. In addition to the $140 million judgment, the court’s order also permanently bans Carroll from advertising, marketing, promoting, or offering for sale any timeshare exit service; from engaging in any deceptive door-to-door sales; and from engaging in other deceptive and misleading conduct detailed in the complaint.
USA Today reported that eligible Amazon customers had a defined window to file claims connected to the Amazon and FTC settlement.
Today, the Federal Trade Commission announced law enforcement actions involving three companies that deceived American consumers by falsely claiming, in advertising and labeling, that their products were made in the United States. These actions follow President Trump’s March Executive Order, “Ensuring Truthful Advertising of Products Claiming to be made in America.” As part of these actions, the FTC reached settlements with sellers of American flags and flagpole display kits, entertainment systems for home and commercial use, and footwear products, resolving allegations in separate federal court complaints that these sellers violated the law by making unqualified and unsubstantiated “Made in USA” claims. “The FTC is committed to ensuring that ‘Made in the USA’ claims are truthful and trustworthy,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We will robustly enforce the ‘Made in the USA’ standard so that the American people have confidence that their purchases of American-made products support American workers and manufacturing.” The three enforcement actions continue the Commission’s work to protect American consumers from deceptive “Made in USA” advertising and labeling claims, while providing consumers with confidence that their purchases of American-made products actually support American workers, manufacturing, and communities. These enforcement actions also ensure that American businesses, who have made the necessary investments in domestic manufacturing, are not disadvantaged and that there is fair competition for those sellers who truthfully advertise their products as “Made in the USA.” TouchTunes The FTC sued TouchTunes Music Company, LLC (TouchTunes), alleging in a complaint that the company falsely claimed its electronic dartboards sold for both residential and commercial use were “Made in the USA.” According to the FTC’s complaint, TouchTunes made numerous unqualified “Made in the USA” claims across its website and other marketing materials even though the electronic dartboards contained imported components. The complaint further alleges that, though TouchTunes completed the final assembly of its electronic dartboards in the United States, many components—including ones essential to the function and operation of the products, such as computer chips, cameras, and flatscreen monitors—were made outside the United States. Accordingly, the FTC alleged that TouchTunes made false, unqualified “Made in the USA” claims on its online sales page and in other advertisements, in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, Section 45a, and the Made in USA (MUSA) Labeling Rule. To resolve these allegations, TouchTunes stipulated to a proposed order that: Provides $625,000 towards consumer redress under Section 19 of the FTC Act, the largest for a Made in USA Labeling Rule case to date; Prohibits misrepresentations regarding U.S.-origin claims; Prohibits misleading or unsubstantiated country-of-origin claims; and Requires TouchTunes to provide notice to consumers of the settlement with the FTC. The Commission vote to issue the complaint and proposed order was 2-0. The complaint and proposed stipulated order will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Americana Liberty and Related Parties As a follow-on to a July 8, 2025, warning letter issued by FTC staff, the FTC brought an enforcement action against Americana Liberty LLC and Three Nations LLC, as well as the companies’ principals—Maximiliano Ojeda, Virginia Hilfiger, and Julian Groves—alleging that they falsely advertised and labeled patriotic flag display and related products as “Made in the USA.” Americana Liberty, Three Nations, and their principals repeatedly and prominently represented in advertising and labeling that American flags, U.S. military flags, and patriotic flag display products and other accessories were “Made in the USA,” “All-American Made,” “100% Made in the USA,” “100% American Made Tough,” and “Built by Americans for Americans,” the FTC’s complaint alleges. The defendants allegedly made these unqualified “Made in the USA” claims through their corporate websites, digital marketing, and other marketing materials. According to the complaint, despite these claims, several products were wholly imported from China and others were comprised of significant or essential foreign components from China, according to the FTC’s complaint. In addition, the companies and their principals are alleged to have violated the Textile Act and Rules—depriving consumers of information about the true nature and origin of these products by failing to include mandatory disclosures on the labeling and advertising for their flags and falsely claiming flags were “Made in the USA” when sellers knew they were made in China. The FTC alleges that Americana Liberty, Three Nations, and their principals violated Section 5 of the FTC Act, Section 45a, the MUSA Labeling Rule, the Textile Act, and the Textiles Rules. To resolve these allegations, defendants stipulated to a proposed order that: Provides $167,743 towards consumer redress; Prohibits misrepresentations regarding U.S.-origin claims; Prohibits misleading or unsubstantiated country-of-origin claims; Requires certain disclosures concerning textile fiber products; and Requires defendants to provide notice to consumers of the settlement with the FTC. The Commission vote to issue the complaint and proposed stipulated order was 2-0. The complaint and proposed order will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Oak Street The FTC took action against Oak Street Manufacturing Company, LLC, which also does business as Oak Street Bootmakers, alleging that the company falsely claimed that certain boots, loafers, moccasins, and other footwear products were “handcrafted 100%” in the United States; the “entire product” was made in the U.S. “from heel-to-toe, using no pre-assembled components from overseas”; and that their footwear products were “More than Made in USATM.” This law enforcement action also follows a warning letter issued by the FTC to Oak Street last July expressing concerns about the company’s “Made in USA” claims. The FTC’s complaint alleges that, since May 2023, Oak Street used a factory in the Dominican Republic to produce the top portion of certain footwear products, while also sourcing outsoles from a factory in Brazil. Oak Street shipped these components to a facility in the United States, according to the complaint, which then assembled the uppers and outsoles into completed footwear products. In some instances, Oak Street did not complete the final assembly stage with U.S.-based contract manufacturers and instead engaged a factory in the Dominican Republic to complete the “bottoming” services for various footwear products, the FTC alleges. Due to these imported components and the assembly process taking place outside the United States, the FTC alleged that Oak Street sold footwear products that were not “all or virtually all” made in the United States, in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, Section 45a, and the MUSA Labeling Rule To resolve these allegations, Oak Street stipulated to a proposed order that: Provides $75,000 towards consumer redress; Prohibits misrepresentations about its products or services, including representations regarding U.S.-origin claims; and Prohibits misleading or unsubstantiated country-of-origin claims. The Commission vote to issue the complaint and proposed stipulated order was 1-0-1, with Commissioner Meador recused. The complaint and proposed order will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division. Closing Letters In addition to the three enforcement actions and settlement agreements, the FTC issued closing letters to two companies that had been under investigation for making unqualified “Made in the USA” claims without proper substantiation or support. After being contacted by FTC staff, acrylic product and custom display manufacturer Marketing Holders LLC and trailer manufacturer Lamar Trailers, Inc. each agreed to take action to remediate certain “Made in USA” representations and bring their companies into compliance with the FTC’s “Made in USA” standard. Based on each company’s remedial actions and commitment to future compliance, FTC staff issued letters closing these investigations. However, both companies were warned that the Commission reserves the right to monitor and take further action, including potentially filing a federal lawsuit. NOTE: The Commission authorizes the filing of a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. Stipulated orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge. The Federal Trade Commission offers guidance on how to comply with the Made in USA standard.