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The natural, inalienable rights and legal rights of the citizenry to be accurately informed must not, by corruption, be perverted, lest that citizenry, acting on such perversion in their daily judgments,  certainly suffer to their physical and spiritual detriment.

©2014 Edgar Rogers-Chairman            Human Utilities Whole Armour®

BUSINESS/FINANCIAL NEWS

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PRESS RELEASES







Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

By Gema de las Heras

Donating is a great way to help people affected by natural disasters like the earthquake that hit Japan on New Years Day. But you know scammers try to take advantage of people recovering, and those who try to help. So, how can you be sure your money goes where it’s needed?

Read more >

90th Anniversary Banner

PRESS RELEASE | DECEMBER 29, 2023

FDIC Makes Public November Enforcement Actions
No Administrative Hearings Scheduled For January 2024

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today released a list of orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in November 2023.  There are no administrative hearings scheduled for January 2024.

The FDIC issued 12 orders and one Notice of Charges (Notice) in November 2023.  The administrative enforcement actions in those orders consisted of five consent orders, three prohibition orders, two orders terminating consent orders, one order to pay a civil money penalty (CMP), and one order dismissing both a notice of assessment of CMPs and order to pay.  The Notice seeks an order to cease and desist and an order for restitution.

To view orders, adjudicated decisions and notices and the administrative hearing details online, please visit the FDIC’s webpage by clicking the link below.

November 2023 Enforcement Decisions & Orders

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U.S. Department of the Treasury

Office of Public Affairs

 

Press Release:             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 1, 2024

 

          

U.S. Beneficial Ownership Information Registry Now Accepting Reports

Existing Companies Have One Year to File; New Companies Must File Within 90 Days of Creation or Registration

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) began accepting beneficial ownership information reports. The bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act, enacted in 2021 to curb illicit finance, requires many companies doing business in the United States to report information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them.

“The launch of the United States’ beneficial ownership registry marks a historic step forward to protect our economic and national security,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. “Corporate anonymity enables money laundering, drug trafficking, terrorism, and corruption. It harms American citizens and puts law-abiding small businesses at a disadvantage. Having a centralized database of beneficial ownership information will eliminate critical vulnerabilities in our financial system and allow us to tackle the scourge of illicit finance enabled by opaque corporate structures.”

Filing is simple, secure, and free of charge. Companies that are required to comply (“reporting companies”) must file their initial reports by the following deadlines:

  • Existing companies: Reporting companies created or registered to do business in the United States before January 1, 2024 must file by January 1, 2025.
  • Newly created or registered companies: Reporting companies created or registered to do business in the United States in 2024 have 90 calendar days to file after receiving actual or public notice that their company’s creation or registration is effective.

Beneficial ownership information reporting is not an annual requirement. A report only needs to be submitted once, unless the filer needs to update or correct information. Generally, reporting companies must provide four pieces of information about each beneficial owner:

  • name;
  • date of birth;
  • address; and
  • the identifying number and issuer from either a non-expired U.S. driver’s license, a non-expired U.S. passport, or a non-expired identification document issued by a State (including a U.S. territory or possession), local government, or Indian tribe. If none of those documents exist, a non-expired foreign passport can be used. An image of the document must also be submitted.

The company must also submit certain information about itself, such as its name(s) and address. In addition, reporting companies created on or after January 1, 2024, are required to submit information about the individuals who formed the company (“company applicants”).

FinCEN is committed to providing America’s small businesses with the resources and information they need to make filing as quick and easy as possible. FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide walks small businesses through the requirements in plain language. Filers can also view informational videos and webinars, find answers to frequently asked questions, connect to the contact center, and learn more about how to report at www.fincen.gov/boi.

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The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted on December 29, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQVIA) from acquiring Propel Media, Inc. pending the Commission’s administrative proceeding seeking to permanently block the proposed deal.

View Press Release

01/03/2024 07:00 AM EST

A Virginia lobbyist and a New Jersey political consultant each have entered into Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) to resolve allegations that they failed to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and committed related offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge Kurt Ronnow, of the FBI Washington Field Office Counterintelligence Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen.
   
01/02/2024 07:00 AM EST

An eight-count federal grand jury indictment was unsealed today charging Olusegun Samson Adejorin, of Nigeria, for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to a protected computer related to a $7.5 million scheme to defraud two charitable organizations by impersonating employees, and gaining access to the employees’ email accounts.  Adejorin was arrested in Ghana on December 29, 2023 and is detained pending his initial appearance in Ghana.
01/02/2024 07:00 AM EST

JOHN MATAVA, 59, of Coventry, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to offenses related to his receipt of COVID-19 relief funds.
01/02/2024 07:00 AM EST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Washington man was sentenced on Dec. 28, 2023, to one year home confinement, followed by two years of supervised release, for interfering with a flight crew in April 2023.
01/02/2024 07:00 AM EST

Anthony Lutz appeared in federal court on an indictment charging him with a single count of unlawful dealing in firearms.
01/02/2024 07:00 AM EST

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging ODOGWU BANYE MMOBUOSI, a/k/a “Dozy Mmobuosi,” with securities fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and conspiracy charges. 


12/27/2023 07:00 AM EST

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that MUNIRA SCHOFIELD, age 28, a resident of LaPlace, Louisiana, was charged last week for her role in preparing and filing false applications for loans related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). SCHOFIELD was charged in a one-count bill of information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 1343. SCHOFIELD’s co-conspirators, Lynn Schofield and Bashir Schofield, were charged previously. 



12/27/2023 07:00 AM EST

A Missouri City couple has been indicted for orchestrating a fraudulent financing and refinancing mortgage loan scheme
06/16/2023 12:00 AM EDT
A federal jury convicted a Florida man for his role in a $54 million bribery and kickback scheme involving TRICARE, a federal program that provides health insurance benefits to active duty and retired service members and their families. 



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PRESS RELEASE | JUNE 15, 2023

FDIC Demands Three Companies Cease Making False or Misleading Representations about Deposit Insurance

 

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today issued a letter demanding three companies and certain of their officers cease and desist from making false and misleading statements about FDIC deposit insurance. The FDIC is demanding that Bodega Importadora de Pallets (“Bodega”), Money Avenue, LLC, and OKCoin USA, Inc. take immediate corrective action to address these false or misleading statements.

Based upon evidence collected by the FDIC, the companies and certain officers made false representations by stating or suggesting that the companies are FDIC-insured, uninsured financial products are insured by the FDIC, misusing the FDIC name or logo, misrepresenting the nature or extent of deposit insurance, and/or failing to identify insured depository institutions with which it has a relationship for the placement of customer deposits and into which funds can be deposited.

These material misrepresentations and omissions are false and misleading, and have the potential to harm consumers. Additionally, in the case of Bodega, the false and misleading representations were contained on a Spanish website.  For this reason, the demand letter to Bodega and this press release are also being issued in Spanish to ensure that potentially-impacted consumers are put on notice of the FDIC’s concerns. 

The FDIC has observed an increasing number of instances online where firms or individuals have misused the FDIC’s name or logo, or have made false or misleading representations about deposit insurance,” said FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg. “These practices can confuse consumers about whether they are dealing with an insured institution and if they are protected by deposit insurance.”

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act) prohibits any person from representing or implying that an uninsured financial product is FDIC–insured or from knowingly misrepresenting the extent and manner of deposit insurance. The FDI Act further prohibits companies from implying that they are FDIC-insured or their products are FDIC–insured by using “FDIC” in the company’s name, advertisements, or other documents. The FDIC is authorized by the FDI Act to enforce this prohibition against any person.

FDIC deposit insurance protects customers in the unlikely event of the failure of an insured financial institution. To determine if an institution is FDIC–insured, you can ask a representative of the institution, look for the FDIC sign at the institution, or use the FDIC’s BankFind tool. For general information about FDIC deposit insurance, read the following frequently asked questions. For more information about FDIC insurance and digital asset companies, read the following fact sheet.

 

Attachments:

Read the FDIC’s letter to Bodega Importadora de Pallets (English)

Read the FDIC’s letter to Bodega Importadora de Pallets (Spanish)

Read the FDIC’s letter to Money Avenue, LLC

Read the FDIC’s letter to OKCoin USA, Inc.

 



Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

By Alvaro Puig

We’re hearing about a new scheme that involves imposters preying on people who are grieving the loss of a loved one. The imposters pretend to be from the funeral home and say that, unless the family pays more money immediately, the funeral will be canceled. Can you imagine anything more despicable?

Read more >



Russian Nationals Charged With Hacking One Cryptocurrency Exchange and Illicitly Operating Another
06/09/2023 12:00 AM EDT

The Justice Department unsealed charges related to the 2011 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox and the operation of the illicit cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.




Agency issues order to additional GPO as it examines the impact of vertically integrated PBMs on prescription drug prices and access

As part of its ongoing study on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their impact on the accessibility and affordability of prescription drugs, the Federal Trade Commission has issued a compulsory order to a third group purchasing organization (GPO) that negotiates drug rebates on behalf of PBMs.

View Press Release

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized its order against motocross and ATV parts maker Cycra and its officer, Chad James, for falsely claiming that the company’s products were manufactured in the U.S.

View Press Release

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order settling charges that Anchor Glass Container Corp. illegally imposed noncompete restrictions on more than 300 workers across a variety of positions.

View Press Release


FTC Suit Leads to $16.7 Million Judgment Against Principals and Celebrity Endorsers of Real Estate Investment Training Program

Court order agreed to by principals permanently bans them from selling “wealth creation” programs

As a result of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection (DCP), the principals of a Utah-based real estate investment training company will pay $15 million and be banned from selling money-making opportunities under a court order they have agreed to.

View Press Release


Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

By Jim Kreidler

Say you’re struggling to pay off your credits cards — which is already difficult with high interest rates — and you hear about a company that promises to reduce or eliminate your credit card debt for a fee. Sounds great, right? But how can you tell if that offer is legitimate or a scam?

Read more >


u s department of homeland security u s immigration and customs enforcement

05/17/2023 04:53 PM EDT
Andres Urias-Soto, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona, further pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit Resulting in Death and admitted to violating a condition of supervised release.




Agency issues policy statement addressing emerging technologies that might harm consumers and violate the FTC Act

The Federal Trade Commission today issued a warning that the increasing use of consumers’ biometric information and related technologies, including those powered by machine learning, raises significant consumer privacy and data security concerns and the potential for bias and discrimination.

View Press Release



FTC Launches Inquiry into Small Business Credit Reports

Commission to examine compilation and dissemination of business credit reports that can impact small businesses’ success

The Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into the small business credit reporting industry, ordering five firms in that industry to provide the Commission with detailed information about their products and processes.

View Press Release

 



U.S. Department of Justice


05/17/2023 12:00 AM EDT

05/16/2023 12:00 AM EDT

The former president of a New York-based non-governmental entity (NGO) was sentenced today to three years and six months in prison for paying bribes to elected officials of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) in exchange for passing certain legislation.
02/17/2023 12:00 AM EST


Jacksonville Postal Employee Pleads Guilty To Stealing Parcels Of Mail
12/30/2022 12:00 AM EST
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jonisha M. Williams (36, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to stealing deposits from the mail. Williams faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.


Four Men Arrested In Transnational Wire Fraud And Identity Theft Conspiracy
12/05/2022 12:00 AM EST

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of four indictments charging Akinola Taylor (Nigeria), Olayemi Adafin (United Kingdom), Olakunle Oyebanjo (Nigeria), and Kazeem Olanrewaju Runsewe (Nigeria), with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, filing false claims with the United States, theft of public money or property, and aggravated identity theft. Taylor, Adafin, and Runsewe, were each arrested on November 30, 2022, and Oyebanjo was arrested on December 1, 2022. Taylor, Adafin, and Oyebanjo were apprehended in London, United Kingdom, and Runswewe was apprehended in Malmo, Sweden. Each will face extradition proceedings. In conjunction with the arrests, foreign authorities conducted searches of the residences of Taylor and Runsewe.

Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

By Colleen Tressler, FTC, Division of Consumer and Business Education

The FTC enforces the Eyeglass Rule, which gives you the right to get your eyeglass prescription — whether you ask for it or not — and at no extra charge once your eye exam has been completed. Having a copy of your prescription lets you shop around and get the best deal. But based on public comments and consumer reports we’ve gotten, it’s clear that some eye doctors aren’t following the Rule.

Read more >


Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission
By Rosario Mendez


When car shopping, you shouldn’t be charged more than the advertised price, or more than other people because of the way you look or where you’re from. That’s wrong, dishonest, and illegal. Today the FTC announced a lawsuit and settlement with a dealership and its owners for allegedly doing just that. Now they have to pay $3.3 million to refund people harmed by their actions and change their allegedly deceptive and unfair practices.

Read more >

09/28/2022 12:00 AM EDT
The Justice Department announced today an agreement to resolve allegations that Lakeland Bank (Lakeland) engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by “redlining” in the Newark metropolitan area, including neighborhoods in Essex, Somerset and Union counties in New Jersey. This resolution is part of the Justice Department’s nationwide Combatting Redlining Initiative and represents the third-largest redlining settlement in department history.




Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

By Seena Gressin

People are telling us they’ve gotten emails warning that their sensitive personal information is being sold in the shadowy marketplaces of the dark web. Some emails list the stolen information, like all or part of the person’s Social Security number, date of birth, and driver’s license number. If you’ve gotten one of these emails, take steps to help protect yourself against financial loss from identity theft.

Read more >





Offices of the United States Attorneys
09/27/2022 12:00 AM EDT

09/27/2022 12:00 AM EDT

WASHINGTON – A Florida man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit health care fraud in an $8.3 million scheme where pharmacy owners paid kickbacks and bribes to telemarketers and telemedicine providers to secure orders for medically unnecessary prescriptions that were billed to Medicare.

Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

By Amy Hebert

If you’re having a hard time making your mortgage payments, we have some advice on what to do next. We also want you to know that there are companies out there who will say they’ll help but are out to take advantage of you.

Read more >


The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against credit services company Credit Karma for deploying dark patterns to misrepresent that consumers were “pre-approved” for credit card offers.

View Press Release 
More news from the FTC


 
 
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08/19/2022 12:00 AM EDT
A former South Florida pharmacy executive was sentenced today to seven and a half years in prison for defrauding Tricare and CHAMPVA of approximately $88 million through a compounding pharmacy fraud scheme.



Construction Company Owner Convicted of Fraud in Securing More Than $240 Million in Contracts Intended for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, a federal jury in San Antonio, Texas, convicted the owner of several companies in the construction industry for his role in a long-running scheme to defraud the United States.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Michael Angelo Padron, along with co-conspirators Michael Wibracht and Ruben Villarreal, conspired to defraud the United States to obtain valuable government contracts under programs administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The evidence showed that Padron conspired to install Villarreal, a service-disabled veteran, as the ostensible owner of a general construction company held out as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Padron, along with his co-conspirator and business partner Wibracht, exercised disqualifying financial and operational control over the construction company. According to court documents, the conspirators concealed that control in order to secure over $240 million in government contracts that were set aside for SDVOSBs in order to benefit their larger, nonqualifying businesses.

“Yesterday’s verdict is a victory for the rule of law,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force welcome this decisive outcome, which protects service-disabled veterans from cheaters and schemers.”

“Using any SBA program fraudulently undermines the spirit and true intent of bolstering the backbone of the nation’s economy — small businesses,” said Special Agent in Charge Sharon Johnson of the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Central Region. “OIG continues to relentlessly root out and protect the integrity of all SBA’s programs. I want to thank the Antitrust Division and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”

“Yesterday’s verdict is a testament to the tenacity of Army CID’s special agents to detect and investigate those who attempt to defraud our military,” said Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Field Office.

“Federal agencies rely on the accuracy and validity of the information contained in GSA’s System for Award Management to make sound contracting decisions,” said Special Agent in Charge Jamie Willemin of the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG), Southwest and Rocky Mountain Division. “We will continue to work with our investigative partners to hold accountable those who fraudulently obtain government contracts by providing false information in the system.”

“Fraudulently obtaining multimillion-dollar government contracts from a program designed to benefit service-disabled veterans is reprehensible,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Breen of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s (VA-OIG) South Central Field Office. “Yesterday’s guilty verdict sends a clear message that the VA-OIG will work diligently to hold those who would do so accountable. The VA-OIG thanks the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and our law enforcement partners for their efforts in this case.”

“This case demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), along with our law enforcement partners, to aggressively pursue those who undermine the integrity of government-sponsored small business initiatives,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos of the DCIS Southwest Field Office. “Individuals who engage in activity that deprive legitimate program participants of valuable economic opportunities will be thoroughly investigated and held accountable.”

Padron was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and six counts of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 19, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy count, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each wire fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section prosecuted the case, which was investigated by SBA-OIG, U.S. Army CID Major Procurement Fraud Unit, VA-OIG, DCIS, and GSA-OIG. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and the Army Audit Agency also assisted with the investigation.

Anyone with information in connection with this investigation is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section at (202) 598-4000, or visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to defense-related spending, go to https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.

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Brockton Man Charged with Fraudulently Obtaining Over $1.5 Million in COVID-Relief Funds
07/25/2022 12:00 AM EDT

BOSTON – A Brockton man was charged on July 21, 2022 in connection with a scheme to submit false applications to obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) funds through the Small Business Administration (SBA) which were made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
07/22/2022 12:00 AM EDT

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn K. Mizelle today sentenced Tracy Lee Jedlicki (56, Delray Beach) to 30 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  As part of her sentence, the Court also ordered Jedlicki to forfeit $750,000, a 4.01 carat diamond ring, a 11-carat diamond necklace, and a South Florida residence worth more than $2 million.  The Court also ordered Jedlicki to pay $3,244,592 in restitution to the victims.  Jedlicki had pleaded guilty on February 24, 2022. 


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06/27/2022 12:00 AM EDT
Jacksonville, FL - After a 24-day trial, a federal jury in the Middle District of Florida convicted two individuals for their roles in a conspiracy that fraudulently billed approximately $1.4 billion for laboratory testing services in a sophisticated pass-through billing scheme involving rural hospitals.

05/18/2022 12:00 AM EDT

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today that $15,111,453.84 in illicit proceeds derived from an international digital fraud scheme has been transferred by Switzerland to the United States government pursuant to a Final Order of Forfeiture entered by United States District Judge Eric R. Komitee in the matter of United States v. Sergey Ovsyannikov, et al.

Member of hacking group sentenced for scheme that compromised tens of millions of debit and credit cards
04/07/2022 12:00 AM EDT

Seattle – A Ukrainian man was sentenced today in the Western District of Washington to 5 years in prison for his criminal work in the hacking group FIN7.



Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

FTC Charges HomeAdvisor, Inc. with Cheating Small Businesses Seeking Leads for Home Improvement Projects

Since 2014, Angi affiliate has misrepresented the quality, source of leads,  and likelihood they would result in actual jobs, agency alleges

The Federal Trade Commission today issued an administrative complaint against Denver-based HomeAdvisor, Inc. – a company affiliated with Angi – alleging it used a wide range of deceptive and misleading tactics in selling home improvement project leads to service providers, largely small businesspeople operating in the “gig” economy.

The FTC’s complaint against HomeAdvisor alleges that since at least the middle of 2014 it has made false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about the quality and source of the leads the company sells to service providers, such as general contractors and small lawn care businesses, who are in search of potential customers.

“Gig economy platforms should not use false claims and phony opportunities to prey on workers and small businesses,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Today’s administrative complaint against HomeAdvisor shows that the FTC will use every tool in its toolbox to combat dishonest commercial practices.”

For example, HomeAdvisor told service providers that its leads resulted in actual home improvement jobs at rates higher than HomeAdvisor’s own data supported. HomeAdvisor also misled service providers about the cost of an optional one-month subscription to a software platform that HomeAdvisor sold along with its leads, according to the FTC’s complaint.

As a result of these misrepresentations, the complaint alleges, service providers often spend time following up on leads that are below the quality HomeAdvisor promises, and even more time seeking refunds from the company for those leads.

HomeAdvisor, which also does business as Angi Leads and HomeAdvisor Powered by Angi, recruits service providers using marketing materials and agents who call the service providers and try to persuade them to join the company’s network. Once service providers join HomeAdvisor’s network, HomeAdvisor then sells them leads, which service providers use to contact potential customers for home services like kitchen remodeling or lawn care.

Many of the leads HomeAdvisor sells consist of information submitted by consumers on the company’s website. It also resells leads it buys from third parties, known as affiliates, who generate the leads, in part, from web-based forms that ask consumers about potential home projects they are considering.

Service providers who join HomeAdvisor’s network pay an annual membership fee of $287.99, in addition to a separate fee for each lead they receive. This can range from $10 to more than $250, depending in part on the type and location of the home project the lead concerns. As part of their HomeAdvisor membership package, many service providers have also paid an additional $59.99 for an optional one-month subscription to a service called mHelpDesk, which includes software that helps with scheduling appointments and processing payments.

This brings the total subscription fee to $347.98, with the mHelpDesk program automatically renewing at $59.99 per month until it is canceled. According to the complaint, HomeAdvisor’s sales agents and marketing materials have misrepresented the quality, characteristics, and source of the leads the company provides. First, while HomeAdvisor states that its leads concern consumers who intend to hire a service provider soon, many of them do not, the FTC contends.

Many of the leads the company sells to its service providers are not from consumers looking to get work done soon. Many are from consumers who have specifically informed HomeAdvisor that they are not ready to hire a service provider. Some leads are facially suspect, or list non-existent addresses or disconnected phone numbers.

In addition, while HomeAdvisor represents that services providers only will receive leads matching the types of services they provide and their preferred geographic area, many of them do not. HomeAdvisor also represents to service providers that its leads are from consumers who knowingly sought HomeAdvisor’s assistance in selecting a service provider , while many of the leads it sells are actually purchased from affiliates and did not come from HomeAdvisor’s website .

The complaint also alleges HomeAdvisor often tells service providers that its leads result in jobs at rates much higher than it can substantiate. While the company’s representatives have used language including, “[O]ur closing rate, our average closing rate, is like 1 in 3,” HomeAdvisor’s own calculations indicate that the average rate at which its leads result in an actual job for a service provider was significantly lower.

Finally, the complaint alleges that HomeAdvisor’s sales agents misrepresented the cost of the optional one-month mHelpDesk subscription by telling service providers that the first month is free with an annual membership package. In reality, the first month of the subscription is not free, resulting in a package that costs $59.99 more than properly informed service providers might have otherwise paid.

The Commission vote to issue the complaint was 4-0. A redacted version of the complaint will be posted soon on the FTC’s website.

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The issuance of the administrative complaint marks the beginning of a proceeding in which the allegations will be tried in a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers . You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).

More news from the FTC >>




Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Colleen Tressler
Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

As part of the FTC’s ongoing efforts to protect you from shady sellers during the pandemic, the agency sent cease and desist demands to 25 companies that claimed their products can prevent or treat COVID-19.

Read more >

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FTC Sues to Block Lockheed Martin Corporation’s $4.4 Billion Vertical Acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.

Agency Seeks to Prevent World’s Largest Defense Contractor from Eliminating Last Independent U.S. Missile Propulsion Provider and Further Consolidating Markets Critical to National Security and Defense

Today, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Lockheed Martin Corporation’s $4.4 billion proposed vertical acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc, the last independent U.S. supplier of missile propulsion systems. Aerojet supplies advanced power, propulsion, and armament systems, which are critical components for the missiles made by Lockheed and other defense prime contractors. The agency’s complaint alleges that if the deal is allowed to proceed, Lockheed will use its control of Aerojet to harm rival defense contractors and further consolidate multiple markets critical to national security and defense. This is the agency's first litigated defense merger challenge in decades.

“The FTC is suing to block Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor, from eliminating Aerojet, our nation’s last independent supplier of key missile inputs,” said FTC Bureau of Competition Director Holly Vedova. “Lockheed is one of a few missile middlemen the U.S. military relies on to supply vital weapons that keep our country safe. If consummated, this deal would give Lockheed the ability to cut off other defense contractors from the critical components they need to build competing missiles. Without competitive pressure, Lockheed can jack up the price the U.S. government has to pay, while delivering lower quality and less innovation. We cannot afford to allow further concentration in markets critical to our national security and defense.”

The U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) reviewed the acquisition and considered the potential impacts of the transaction on national security, the nation’s industrial and technological base, competition, and innovation. As part this assessment, the DoD facilitated a series of FTC-led interviews with DoD-impacted stakeholders. DoD’s assessment was provided to the FTC for its deliberations and final decision-making.

“I deeply appreciate the collaborative relationship between DoD and FTC staff who worked closely throughout this investigation,” said Director Vedova. “The FTC determined that the proposed transaction harms competition for several weapons systems that DoD relies on to defend the nation and there is no sufficient remedy to alleviate those harms.”  

Lockheed is the world’s largest defense contractor and a leading missile supplier in a highly concentrated sector. Lockheed, and its U.S missile competitors—Raytheon Technologies, Inc., Northrop Grumman Corporation, and The Boeing Company—act as missile system prime contractors to DoD. These prime contractors are key intermediaries between the U.S. government and the rest of the missile systems supply chain, including the subcontractors such as Aerojet which provide system components to them. DoD relies on prime contractors to develop, produce, sustain, and source a variety of weapons, including missile systems, hypersonic cruise missiles, and missile defense kill vehicles. Each of these weapons depend on critical propulsion technologies of the type supplied by Aerojet.

Aerojet, as a subcontractor, is the last independent U.S. supplier of critical inputs for missile systems, hypersonic cruise missiles, and missile defense kill vehicles. Aerojet and only one other competitor – Northrop Grumman – compete to provide propulsion inputs for missile systems and hypersonic cruise missiles to defense prime contractors. Aerojet and Northrop Grumman both provide solid rocket motors for missile systems and supersonic combustion ramjets, or “scramjets,” which are air-breathing engines that propel hypersonic cruise missiles. Further, Aerojet is the only proven U.S. supplier of divert-and-attitude control systems that propel missile defense kill vehicles.      

Lockheed’s proposed acquisition of Aerojet would give Lockheed control over critical propulsion inputs that its rivals require to compete against Lockheed. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the proposed acquisition would give Lockheed the ability and incentive to deny, limit, or otherwise disadvantage competitors’ access to critical propulsion inputs for various weapons systems. The combined firm could disadvantage rivals by affecting the price or quality of the product, the quality of the engineering support, and the schedule and contract terms for developing and supplying it or otherwise disadvantage its rivals. As a subcontractor, Aerojet also has had access to prime contractors’ sensitive information about technological advancements, cost, schedule, and business strategies. The complaint alleges that post-acquisition, Lockheed would have an incentive to exploit its access to its rivals’ proprietary information to gain an advantage in competitions against them. 

The U.S. government in turn would be harmed because the cost of missile systems, missile defense kill vehicles, and hypersonic cruise missiles would likely increase, innovation would be lessened, and quality would be reduced, hindering national security and defense interests.

According to the complaint, the proposed transaction could impact research and development as well as innovation into the future, which is vital to ensure that the U.S. remains a leader in these technologies. As an independent supplier, Aerojet has the incentive to allocate its research and development funds based on the potential return the funds would generate regardless of which prime contractor it is supporting. The complaint alleges that post-acquisition, the combined firm would be incentivized to allocate Aerojet investment dollars for the combined firm’s benefit alone, which would stifle innovation.

The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint (a public version of which will be available and linked to this news release as soon as possible) and to authorize staff to seek a preliminary injunction was 4-0.The FTC will file a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking a Preliminary Injunction to stop the deal pending an administrative trial. The administrative trial is scheduled to begin on June 16, 2022.

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The issuance of the administrative complaint marks the beginning of a proceeding in which the allegations will be tried in a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint.  For the latest news and resources, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases and read our blog.




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Today, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote held “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli liable for antitrust claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of seven state enforcers.  Finding that Shkreli’s conduct was “egregious, deliberate, repetitive, long-running, and ultimately dangerous,” the Court imposed a lifetime ban against Shkreli participating in the pharmaceutical industry and found Shkreli liable for $64.6 million in disgorgement

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan issued the following statement regarding today’s decision:

“Judge Cote’s decision to ban Shkreli for life from the pharmaceutical industry is a significant victory for American consumers. This precedent-setting relief should be a warning to corporate executives everywhere that they may be held individually responsible for the anticompetitive conduct they direct or control. Many thanks and congratulations are due to the exceptional FTC staff and state attorneys general for vigorously pursuing this case and delivering this just outcome. Today's win reflects their talent, hard work, and deep commitment to serving the public.”

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint.  For the latest news and resources, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases and read our blog.

Contact Information



Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and Sojitz (Hong Kong) Limited

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced a settlement with Sojitz (Hong Kong) Limited ("Sojitz HK"), a Hong Kong, China-based company that engages in offshore trading and cross-border trade financing. Sojitz HK agreed to remit $5,228,298 to settle its potential civil liability for apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). The apparent violations occurred when Sojitz HK made U.S. dollar payments through U.S. financial institutions for Iranian-origin high density polyethylene resin (HDPE) from its bank in Hong Kong to the HDPE supplier's banks in Thailand. In doing so, Sojitz HK caused the U.S. financial institutions that processed the funds to engage in and facilitate prohibited financial transactions related to goods of Iranian origin. The settlement amount reflects OFAC's determination that Sojitz HK's apparent violations were non-egregious and voluntarily self-disclosed, and accounts for Sojitz HK's remedial response and cooperation with OFAC.

For more information on the Settlement Agreement, please visit the following web notice.



Press Release  |  December 31, 2021

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams Announces Resignation

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams today sent the following letter to the President of the United States:

 

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President,

After serving as the 21st Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) since June 2018, I intend to resign as Chairman effective February 4, 2022. 

When I immigrated to this country 30 years ago, I did so with a firm belief in the American system of government.  During my tenure at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the United States Senate, and the FDIC, I have developed a deep appreciation for these venerable institutions and their traditions.  It has been a tremendous honor to serve this nation, and I did not take a single day for granted.  Throughout my public service, I have been constantly reminded how blessed we are to live in the United States of America.

Serving the American people alongside the dedicated career professionals of the FDIC has been the highlight of my professional life.  Throughout my tenure, the agency has focused on its fundamental mission to maintain and instill confidence in our banking system while at the same time promoting innovation, strengthening financial inclusion, improving transparency, and supporting community banks and minority depository institutions, including through the creation of the Mission Driven Bank Fund.  Today, banks continue to maintain robust capital and liquidity levels to support lending and protect against potential losses.

The unexpected shock of COVID-19 tested the resilience of our financial system beginning in March 2020, and the FDIC took swift actions to maintain stability and provide flexibility for banks and consumers.  The core of our financial system not only weathered the storm, but was a tangible source of strength for the American economy.  The committed staff of the FDIC deserve great credit for these results, and they have my profound gratitude.  I am humbled by their dedication to the FDIC’s mission and honored to have served with them. 

Sincerely,


Jelena McWilliams

###



U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and TD Bank, N.A.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced a $115,005.04 settlement of two cases involving T.D. Bank, N.A. (“TDBNA”) for apparent violations of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations and the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations. In the first matter, TDBNA processed transactions and maintained accounts on behalf of employees of the North Korean mission to the United Nations without a license from OFAC. In the second matter, TDBNA maintained accounts for a U.S. resident who was listed on OFAC’s list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. The apparent violations in both matters were voluntarily self-disclosed and were non-egregious.

For more information on the Settlement Agreement, please visit the following web notice.




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Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that the Alabama Board of Dental Examiners, a body controlled by licensed dentists, violated antitrust laws by requiring on-site supervision by licensed dentists of tooth alignment scans for prospective patients who are seeking to address misaligned teeth or gaps between teeth.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Board must no longer impede clear aligner platforms, or dental professionals affiliated with them, from providing clear aligner therapy through remote treatment.

First announced in September 2021, the complaint alleged that although these scans are  routinely administered by dental assistants and other non-dentist practitioners, in 2017, the Board amended a rule so as to prohibit dental assistants and other non-dentist practitioners from performing scans inside a patient’s mouth without on-site dentist supervision. The Dental Board’s requirement limited consumer choice and impeded competition from new providers in the state of Alabama, according to the complaint. The Board’s enaction of this requirement was not supervised by neutral state officials with the power to veto or modify the Board’s action.

The Commission vote to approve the final order was 4-0. 

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint.  For the latest news and resources, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases and read our blog.

 

 


Federal Reserve Board Notification 

Thu, Dec 9, 11:07 AM (6 days ago)

Statistical Release
Z.1 Financial Accounts
https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/default.htm

 

Released by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System



seal - centered header for gov delivery

The United States Department of Justice

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 16, 2021

 

 

 

Note: Click to view indictment.

Six Aerospace Executives and Managers Indicted for Leading Roles in Labor Market Conspiracy that Limited Workers’ Mobility and Career Prospects

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in Bridgeport, Connecticut, returned an indictment yesterday charging a former manager of a major aerospace engineering company and five executives of outsource engineering suppliers (Suppliers) for participating in a long-running conspiracy to restrict the hiring and recruiting of employees among their respective companies. The conspiracy affected thousands of engineers and other skilled workers in the aerospace industry who perform services in the design, manufacturing and servicing of aircraft components for both commercial and military purposes.

According to the one-count felony indictment unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, six individuals — Mahesh Patel, of Connecticut; Robert Harvey, of South Carolina; Harpreet Wasan, of Connecticut; Steven Houghtaling, of Connecticut; Tom Edwards, of Connecticut; and Gary Prus, of Florida — conspired with unnamed others to allocate employees by agreeing not to hire or solicit employees from each other’s companies. 

This indictment is the first in an ongoing investigation into labor market allocation in the aerospace engineering services industry. Patel, described as a leader of the conspiracy given his position and authority as the Suppliers’ common customer, was previously charged by complaint. He was arrested and appeared before a federal magistrate judge on the charge last week, and was released on a $100,000 appearance bond. The remaining defendants are expected to appear before federal district courts in different districts this week.

“Conduct that corrupts competition for workers has no place in our economy,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan S. Kanter of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Our investigation revealed a prolonged and widespread scheme to deprive aerospace workers of the ability to plan their own careers and earn competitive pay. The Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold individuals and companies accountable for criminal conduct aimed at depriving workers of the myriad benefits that flow from competition.”

“No one should be illegally denied the opportunity to pursue better jobs, higher pay and greater benefits,” said Peter S. Jongbloed, Counsel to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. “It is vital that the labor market in the defense and aerospace remain fair, open and competitive, and we look forward to continuing the partnership with the Antitrust Division and our law enforcement partners to prosecute this important case.”

“Anticompetitive practices undermine legitimate procurement and acquisition processes designed to ensure equity among parties that do business with the government. The DoD Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is fully committed to prioritizing investigations involving corruption of the DoD labor market,” said Principal Deputy Director James R. Ives of the DCIS. “We will continue to partner with the Department of Justice to ensure the labor market that supplies goods and services to the U.S. military remains competitive.”   

According to the indictment, the defendants and co-conspirators recognized the mutual financial benefit of the conspiracy — namely, reducing the rise in labor costs that would occur when aerospace workers were free to find new employment in a competitive environment. Patel and certain other co-conspirators explicitly appealed to this financial benefit when communicating with each other about the agreement.

The maximum penalty under the Sherman Act for a conspiracy to restrain trade is 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of $1 million. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.  

The charges are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into labor market allocation in the aerospace engineering services industry, conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, and the New Haven and New York Resident Agencies of DCIS. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.

An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

###

ATR

21-1260

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 9, 2021

 

 

 

Former Aerospace Outsourcing Executive Charged for Key Role in a Long-Running Antitrust Conspiracy

Eight-Year Scheme Illegally Limited Workers’ Career Prospects and Earnings

WASHINGTON – The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut unsealed a criminal complaint accusing a former aerospace outsourcing executive of participating in a long-running conspiracy with managers and executives of several outsource engineering suppliers (Suppliers) to restrict the hiring and recruiting of engineers and other skilled laborers among their respective companies.

According to the filed documents, Mahesh Patel, of Glastonbury, Connecticut, a former director of global engineering services at a major aerospace engineering company, enforced this agreement while serving as an intermediary between conspiring Suppliers. Patel appeared remotely before a federal court in Hartford, Connecticut, on Tuesday after his arrest on the complaint charging him with conspiracy in restraint of trade. He was released on conditions including travel restrictions and a $100,000 appearance bond. The charge against Patel is the first in this ongoing federal antitrust investigation.

“The Antitrust Division, together with our law enforcement partners, have prioritized rooting out conspiracies in labor markets,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Here, thousands of workers have been victimized over a long period of time. We will vigorously prosecute this and other cases in which corporate executives undermine the careers of their own workers in order to reap undeserved profits and deprive our fellow citizens of opportunities to earn a competitive wage.”

“Given the significance of major defense and aerospace companies to Connecticut’s economy, it is vital that the labor market in this industry remain fair, open and competitive to our workers,” said Peter S. Jongbloed, Counsel to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. “No one should be illegally denied the opportunity to pursue better jobs, higher pay and greater benefits. We look forward to continuing the partnership with the Antitrust Division and our law enforcement partners in prosecuting this important case.”

“Protecting the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) procurement process is a top priority for the DoD Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),” said Principal Deputy Director James R. Ives of the DCIS. “We are committed to working with the Antitrust Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut to hold companies and individuals accountable for practices that erode public trust and confidence in the DoD industry.”

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Patel upheld a conspiracy among aerospace companies not to hire or recruit one another’s employees. At times, Patel confronted and berated Suppliers who cheated on the agreement, often at the direct behest of another Supplier, and threatened to punish nonconforming Suppliers by taking away valuable access to projects. In addition, as the complaint alleges, Patel and co-conspirators recognized the mutual financial benefit of this agreement — namely, reducing the rise in labor costs that would occur when aerospace workers were free to find new employment in a competitive environment.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to restrain trade under the Sherman Antitrust Act is 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of $1 million for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.  

The charges are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into market allocation in the aerospace engineering services industry, conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, and the New Haven and New York Resident Agencies of the DCIS. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

###

ATR

21-1224



Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

 

The Federal Trade Commission is sending 71,899 checks totaling more than $1.8 million to consumers, including many older Americans, tricked into paying for supposedly free in-home medical alert devices. The money comes from a settlement with New York-based Lifewatch, Inc.

The FTC’s complaint, filed jointly with the Florida Attorney General’s Office, alleged that the defendants bombarded consumers with at least a billion unsolicited robocalls to pitch supposedly “free” medical alert systems. These pre-recorded messages claimed that Lifewatch’s medical alert system was endorsed or recommended by reputable organizations like the American Heart Association. The company’s telemarketers often told consumers that a medical alert system had been purchased for them, and they could receive it “at no cost whatsoever.” Consumers eventually learned that they were responsible for monthly monitoring fees and that it was difficult to cancel without paying a penalty.

In addition to imposing the monetary penalty to provide consumer refunds, the order settling the FTC’s charges bans the Lifewatch defendants from telemarketing and prohibits them from misrepresenting the terms associated with the sale of any product or service.

The FTC is returning $1,808,260 to defrauded consumers. All checks are for $25.15, and will expire in 90 days, as indicated on the check. Recipients who have questions about their refund can call the administrator, Analytics, LLC, at 1-866-484-1466. The FTC never requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash a refund check.

In 2020, FTC actions led to more than $483 million in refunds to consumers across the country, but the United States Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the FTC lacks authority under Section 13(b) to seek monetary relief in federal court going forward. The Commission has urged Congress to restore the FTC’s ability to get money back for consumers.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, stop deceptive and unfair business practices and scams, and educate consumers. Report fraud, scams, or bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Get consumer advice at consumer.ftc.gov. Also, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases, and read the FTC’s blogs.

Contact Information

Contact For Consumers:
Analytics, LLC, Refund Administrator
1-866-484-1466



Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

FTC Launches Inquiry into Supply Chain Disruptions

Orders Walmart, Amazon, Kroger and other large wholesalers and suppliers to turn over information to help study causes of empty shelves and sky-high prices

The Federal Trade Commission is ordering nine large retailers, wholesalers, and consumer good suppliers to provide detailed information that will help the FTC shed light on the causes behind ongoing supply chain disruptions and how these disruptions are causing serious and ongoing hardships for consumers and harming competition in the U.S. economy.

The FTC is issuing the orders under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which authorizes the Commission to conduct wide-ranging studies that do not have a specific law enforcement purpose. The orders are being sent to Walmart Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Kroger Co., C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., McLane Co, Inc. Procter & Gamble Co., Tyson Foods, Inc., and Kraft Heinz Co. The companies will have 45 days from the date they received the order to respond.

“Supply chain disruptions are upending the provision and delivery of a wide array of goods, ranging from computer chips and medicines to meat and lumber. I am hopeful the FTC’s new 6(b) study will shed light on market conditions and business practices that may have worsened these disruptions or led to asymmetric effects,” said Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC has a long history of pursuing market studies to deepen our understanding of economic conditions and business conduct, and we should continue to make nimble and timely use of these information-gathering tools and authorities.”

In addition to better understanding the reasons behind the disruptions, the study will examine whether supply chain disruptions are leading to specific bottlenecks, shortages, anticompetitive practices, or contributing to rising consumer prices.

The orders require the companies to detail the primary factors disrupting their ability to obtain, transport and distribute their products; the impact these disruptions are having in terms of delayed and canceled orders, increased costs and prices; the products, suppliers and inputs most affected; and the steps the companies are taking to alleviate disruptions; and how they allocate products among their stores when they are in short supply.

The FTC also is requiring the companies to provide internal documents regarding the supply chain disruptions, including strategies related to supply chains; pricing; marketing and promotions; costs, profit margins and sales volumes; selection of suppliers and brands; and market shares.

In addition, the agency is soliciting voluntary comments from retailers, consumer goods suppliers, wholesalers, and consumers regarding their views on how supply chain issues are affecting competition in consumer goods markets. These comments provide an opportunity for market participants to surface additional issues and examples of how supply chain disruptions are affecting competition.

The Commission vote to approve issuing the Special Orders was 4-0.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint.  For the latest news and resources, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases and read our blog.




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FTC Issues Annual Report to Congress on Protecting Older Adults

Report notes jump in online shopping fraud reports since start of COVID-19 pandemic

The Federal Trade Commission has issued its latest report to Congress on protecting older adults, which highlights updated findings from the Commission’s fraud reports showing trends in how older adults report being affected by fraud.

The report, Protecting Older Consumers, 2020-2021, A Report of the Federal Trade Commission, also includes information on the FTC’s efforts to protect older consumers through law enforcement actions and outreach and education programs. This year’s report calls particular attention to the Commission’s work to combat scams related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reports of online shopping fraud increased sharply among adults aged 60 and higher in the second quarter of 2020 as online marketers failed to deliver masks and other scarce items needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most frequent type of fraud reported by older adults was online shopping scams. Overall, reports of losses to online shopping fraud by older adults more than doubled in 2020, and the numbers continued to be far higher than pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2021.

As in prior years, the analysis of fraud reports received by the FTC in 2020 showed that adults aged 60 and higher are substantially less likely to report losing money to fraud than adults aged 20-59. When they do report losing money, though, they tend to report losing substantially more than younger adults. Consumers 80 and older reported losing a median of $1,300 to fraud, while those in their seventies reported a median loss of $650, and those in their sixties reported a median loss of $449.

The analysis included in the report to Congress also found that adults older than 60 were nearly five times as likely as adults aged 20 to 59 to report losing money to a tech support scam. Older adults were nearly three times more likely to report a loss to a prize, lottery or sweepstakes scam, and more than twice as likely to report losing money to a friend or family impersonator scam.

In addition, the report notes that older adults reported losing about $139 million to romance scams – the highest total reported loss of any scam category, and a sharp increase from $84 million in 2019.

The report also focuses on key enforcement actions the FTC has taken to protect older consumers, including against investment schemes, a credit card stacking operation, an indoor TV antenna scam, and numerous cases against scammers making false health claims, including many related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlights a number of ongoing law enforcement partnerships in which the FTC works with other federal agencies, along with state and local authorities, to take actions to protect older consumers.

Finally, the report details the FTC’s outreach and education efforts through such programs as the Pass it On campaign, which focuses on providing fraud prevention resources to older adults so they can help protect their communities by sharing the information and materials with family and friends.

The Commission vote authorizing the report to Congress was 4-0.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). For the latest news and resources, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases and read our blogs.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Contact For Consumers:



Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Rosario Méndez
Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

The newly-released Serving Communities of Color Report [link to the press release] summarizes the past five years of the FTC’s efforts to address, understand, and educate people about consumer issues that have a disproportionately negative impact on communities of color. And, it confirms the FTC’s commitment to continue this important work. Here are some highlights of the report:

Read more >


U.S. Department of Justice

10/12/2021 12:00 AM EDT

A Brazilian man who previously served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Braskem S.A. (Braskem), a publicly-traded Brazilian petrochemical company, was sentenced today in the Eastern District of New York to 20 months in prison for a scheme to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from Braskem into a secret slush fund and to pay bribes to government officials, political parties, and others in Brazil.







U.S. Department of Labor  |  September 29, 2021

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has awarded $10,537,000 in grant funding to support safety and health training, and other programs. MSHA awarded grants to 46 states, the Navajo Nation and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Grantees will use the funds to provide miners with federally mandated training. The grants cover training and retraining of miners working at surface and underground coal and metal and nonmetal mines. This includes miners engaged in shell dredging or employed at surface stone, sand, and gravel mining operations.

“These state grants help provide critical safety and health training for thousands of miners,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Jeannette J. Galanis. “MSHA is dedicated to keeping miners safe on the job, and this annual funding helps make sure miners across the country have access to proper safety training and resources.”

MSHA awarded grants based on applications from states, and they are administered by state mine inspectors’ offices, state departments of labor, and state-supported colleges and universities. Each recipient tailors the program to the needs of its mines and miners – including mining conditions and hazards miners may encounter – and provides technical assistance. The state grants are formula grants authorized under Section 503 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

The grant recipients are as follows:
Recipient State Amount
Bevill State Community College Alabama $236,821
University of Alaska Alaska $142,249
Arizona State Mine Inspector Arizona $391,991
Navajo Nation Minerals Department Arizona $54,785
Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing Arkansas $128,278
Department of Industrial Relations California $379,933
Department of National Resources Colorado $262,949
Central Connecticut State University Connecticut $80,093
Tallahassee Community College Florida $181,183
Technical College System of Georgia Georgia $205,443
North Idaho College Idaho $143,378
Department of Natural Resources Illinois $271,733
Vincennes University Indiana $263,582
Eastern Iowa Community College District Iowa $187,028
Hutchinson Community College Kansas $128,783
Division of Mine Safety Kentucky $417,148
Northshore Technical Community College Louisiana $114,804
Department of Labor Maine $117,104
Department of the Environment Maryland $73,216
Department of Labor Standards Massachusetts $101,383
Michigan Technological University Michigan $255,137
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Minnesota $379,465
Department of Environmental Quality Mississippi $46,118
Department of Labor & Industrial Relations Missouri $275,709
Department of Labor & Industry Montana $213,341
University of Nebraska at Kearney Nebraska $93,256
Mine Safety & Training Section Nevada $400,325
Department of Business & Economic Affairs New Hampshire $76,777
Department of Labor and Workforce Development New Jersey $63,199
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico $185,564
Department of Labor, Division of Safety New York $335,452
Department of Labor North Carolina $181,558
Department of Career and Technical Education North Dakota $120,220
Office of the Governor Northern Mariana Islands $21,991
Department of Natural Resources Ohio $260,854
Department of Mines Oklahoma $176,610
Eastern Oregon University Oregon $163,835
Department of Environmental Protection Pennsylvania $606,207
Tri-County Technical College South Carolina $86,803
School of Mines and Technology South Dakota $93,737
Department of Labor and Workforce Tennessee $196,389
University of Texas at Austin Texas $690,561
Utah State University Utah $244,919
Department of Labor Vermont $113,050
Department of Mines, Minerals & Energy Virginia $261,822
Eastern Washington University Washington $171,960
Office of Miners’ Health, Safety & Training West Virginia $529,191
Northcentral Technical College Wisconsin $98,473
Northern Wyoming Community College Wyoming $312,593

###

Agency: Mine Safety & Health Administration
Date: September 29, 2021
Release Number: 21-1780-NAT






Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

 

Files administrative complaint aimed at recouping hundreds of millions lost by customers lured by false promises of fuel savings

The Federal Trade Commission has filed an administrative complaint against FleetCor and its CEO, Ronald Clarke, for charging customers hundreds of millions of dollars in mystery fees associated with fuel cards. FleetCor, marketing under the “Fuelman” brand name and through co-branded cards with businesses around the country, falsely told its business customers that they would save money, be protected from unauthorized charges, and have no set-up, transaction, or membership fees. In reality, according to FleetCor’s own records, customers generally have not achieved the advertised per-gallon savings by using FleetCor’s cards.

The FTC filed suit in federal court against FleetCor and Clarke in December 2019, alleging that they charged hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden and undisclosed fees to their customers after making false promises they could save customers on their fuel costs. However, in a ruling earlier this year, the Supreme Court determined that the FTC was not able to seek redress for consumers under section 13(b) of the FTC Act. In an effort to ensure that the agency’s case against the fuel card marketer is still able to recover money lost by consumers, the FTC has filed a new administrative complaint which alleges that FleetCor and Clarke violated section 5 of the FTC Act.

“FleetCor fleeced its customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars through its dishonest practices,” said Samuel Levine, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will do everything it can to get money back to FleetCor’s business customers and unsuspecting fuel card users by refiling this complaint administratively. We will also continue to work with Congress on a broader legislative solution following the Supreme Court’s decision in AMG, which has hindered our ability to recover redress for families and honest businesses.”

The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint was 4-1. Commissioner Noah Phillips voted yes but dissented in part as to the inclusion of Ronald Clarke as an individual defendant. Commissioner Christine S. Wilson voted no, including as to the inclusion of Ronald Clarke as an individual defendant, but concurred in part as to Counts III, IV, and V against FleetCor. 

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The issuance of the administrative complaint marks the beginning of a proceeding in which the allegations will be tried in a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and report scams, fraud, and bad business practices online at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, get consumer alerts, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Contact Information

Contact For Consumers:
Consumer Response Center
877-382-4357

Related Cases



Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

 

The Federal Trade Commission is adjusting its process for reviewing mergers to deal with a surge in merger filings.

In a new blog post, FTC Bureau of Competition Director Holly Vedova notes, “for deals that we cannot fully investigate within the requisite timelines [under the Hart Scott Rodino Act], we have begun to send standard form letters alerting companies that the FTC’s investigation remains open and reminding companies that the agency may subsequently determine that the deal was unlawful. Companies that choose to proceed with transactions that have not been fully investigated are doing so at their own risk.” 

When sent, the letters will remind companies that the FTC may subsequently determine that their deal is unlawful and seek to undo the transaction. 

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint.




U.S. Department of the Treasury

Office of Public Affairs

Press Release:             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 30, 2021

 Treasury Announces Marketable Borrowing Estimates

WASHINGTON  The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced its current estimates of privately-held net marketable borrowing[1] for the July – September 2021 and October – December 2021 quarters.[2] 

  • During the July – September 2021 quarter, Treasury expects to borrow $673 billion in privately-held net marketable debt, assuming an end-of-September cash balance of $750 billion.[3] The borrowing estimate is $148 billion lower than announced in May 2021, primarily due to the higher beginning of quarter balance and lower outlays.
  • During the October – December 2021 quarter, Treasury expects to borrow $703 billion in privately-held net marketable debt, assuming an end-of-December cash balance of $800 billion.[3]

During the April – June 2021 quarter, Treasury borrowed $319 billion in privately-held net marketable debt and ended the quarter with a cash balance of $852 billion. In May 2021, Treasury estimated privately-held net marketable borrowing of $463 billion and assumed an end-of-June cash balance of $800 billion. The $143 billion decrease in borrowing resulted primarily from an increase in receipts and a decrease in expenditures, somewhat offset by the increase in the end-of-June cash balance.[4]

Additional financing details relating to Treasury’s Quarterly Refunding will be released at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 2021.

###



U.S. Department of Justice

The United States Department of Justice

 

 

08/02/2021 12:00 AM EDT

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 29, 2021

 

 

 

Four Executives and Company Charged with Price Fixing in Ongoing Investigation into Broiler Chicken Industry

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in Denver, Colorado, returned an indictment yesterday charging Koch Foods, headquartered in Park Ridge, Illinois, for participating in a nationwide conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chicken products. Separately, a federal grand jury in Denver returned an indictment charging four executives for their roles in the same conspiracy while employed by Pilgrim’s Pride.

According to court documents, the four charged Pilgrim’s Pride executives are Jason McGuire, a former Executive Vice President of Sales for Prepared Foods; Timothy Stiller, a former General Manager of Fresh Food Services and Small Bird Debone; Wesley “Scott” Tucker, a National Accounts sales executive; and Justin Gay, Director of Fresh Foodservice Sales.

The indictments allege that the defendants and co-conspirators conspired to suppress and eliminate competition for sales of broiler chicken products, which are chickens raised for human consumption and sold to grocers and restaurants. Koch’s senior vice president, William Kantola, is among ten individuals indicted in October 2020 for their roles in the conspiracy. On May 19, a grand jury returned an indictment against Claxton Poultry for its role in the same conspiracy, which today’s indictment supersedes. Pilgrim’s Pride, a major broiler chicken producer based in Greeley, Colorado, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February 2021 to pay a criminal fine of $107 million for its role in the conspiracy. The long-running conspiracy began as early as 2012 and lasted until at least 2019.

“As today’s charges show, the division remains committed to holding both individuals and companies accountable when they choose profits over following the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Our investigation into criminal price fixing of broiler chickens continues, and we will not stop until we ensure that wrongdoers are held accountable and competition is restored to this critical industry.”

“Price fixing is not a victimless crime, and the illegal actions taken by these companies and individuals in the broiler chicken industry have had a direct and negative impact on the American consumer,” said Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI Washington Field Office. “The FBI is committed to pursuing those who violate antitrust laws, harming the nation’s free and competitive marketplace all for their own monetary gain.”

“Price fixing, bid rigging and related activities harm consumers and our system of free market competition,” said Scott Kieffer, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General. “We remain committed to working with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate and prosecute corrupt behavior in order to protect the integrity of our nation’s commerce.”

Koch Foods, McGuire, Stiller, Tucker and Gay are each charged with a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Defendants McGuire, Stiller, Tucker and Gay will make their initial court appearances on Aug. 11 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Crews of the U.S. District Court for Colorado. Koch Foods’ initial appearance has not yet been scheduled. The Sherman Act carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals, and a $100 million fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the broiler chicken industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division with the assistance of the Department of Commerce Inspector General’s Office, the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by the Antitrust Division.

Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging or other anticompetitive conduct related to the broiler chicken industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

###

ATR

21-714




07/28/2021 12:00 AM EDT


Former Delray Beach Doctor Sentenced To Six Years In Federal Prison For $20 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
07/26/2021 12:00 AM EDT
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William Jung has sentenced Dr. Richard Davidson (Delray Beach, 42) to six years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. As part of his sentence, the court ordered Davidson to forfeit approximately $650,000 in funds traceable to the offense or as substitute assets. The court also entered a money judgment of $2.47 million and ordered $10.72 million in restitution. Davidson lost his medical license due to his conviction.



Treasury Building Engraving

U.S. Department of the Treasury

 

U.S. Department of the Treasury Daily Treasury Bill Rates Update

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=billrates

____

 

Press Release:             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2021

 

Contact:                       Treasury Public Affairs; Press@Treasury.gov

Treasury International Capital Data for May 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for May 2021.  The next release, which will report on data for June 2021, is scheduled for August 16, 2021.

The sum total in May of all net foreign acquisitions of long-term securities, short-term U.S. securities, and banking flows was a net TIC inflow of $105.3 billion.  Of this, net foreign private inflows were $128.4 billion, and net foreign official outflows were $23.1 billion.

Foreign residents decreased their holdings of long-term U.S. securities in May; net sales were $40.3 billion.  Net sales by private foreign investors were $41.6 billion, while net purchases by foreign official institutions were $1.3 billion.

U.S. residents decreased their holdings of long-term foreign securities, with net sales of $10.1 billion.

Taking into account transactions in both foreign and U.S. securities, net foreign sales of long-term securities were $30.2 billion.  After including adjustments, such as estimates of unrecorded principal payments to foreigners on U.S. asset-backed securities, overall net foreign sales of long-term securities are estimated to have been $63.6 billion in May.

Foreign residents decreased their holdings of U.S. Treasury bills by $18.5 billion.  Foreign resident holdings of all dollar-denominated short-term U.S. securities and other custody liabilities increased by $9.7 billion.

Banks’ own net dollar-denominated liabilities to foreign residents increased by $159.2 billion.

Complete data are available on the Treasury website at: https://home.treasury.gov/data/treasury-international-capital-tic-system

About TIC Data

The monthly data on holdings of long-term securities, as well as the monthly table on Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities, reflect foreign holdings of U.S. securities collected primarily on the basis of custodial data.  These data help provide a window into foreign ownership of U.S. securities, but they cannot attribute holdings of U.S. securities with complete accuracy.  For example, if a U.S. Treasury security purchased by a foreign resident is held in a custodial account in a third country, the true ownership of the security will not be reflected in the data.  The custodial data will also not properly attribute U.S. Treasury securities managed by foreign private portfolio managers who invest on behalf of residents of other countries.  In addition, foreign countries may hold dollars and other U.S. assets that are not captured in the TIC data.  For these reasons, it is difficult to draw precise conclusions from TIC data about changes in the foreign holdings of U.S. financial assets by individual countries.

Treasury International Capital Data

###


U.S. Department of Justice


07/19/2021 12:00 AM EDT


06/30/2021 12:00 AM EDT

Armed Forces Services Corporation d/b/a Magellan Federal (“AFSC”), located in Alexandria, agreed to pay $4,342,651 to resolve allegations that three former AFSC executives accepted kickbacks in exchange for awarding subcontracts on federal government contracts, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh for the Eastern District of Virginia.

 

06/30/2021 12:00 AM EDT

A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Belgium-based Seris Security NV (Seris) and three executives for their roles in a conspiracy to fix prices, rig bids and allocate customers for defense-related security services, including a multimillion-dollar contract issued in 2020 to provide security services to the U.S. Department of Defense for military bases and installations in Belgium. This is the second charge and first indictment involving an international conspiracy obtained by the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) and follows G4S Secure Solution NV’s (G4S) agreement to plead guilty in the investigation

06/17/2021 12:00 AM EDT

A compound pharmacy owner, three marketers, a referring physician and two clinic office staff have been taken into custody in connection with a multi-million dollar health care fraud and kickback scheme


CEO Of Private Equity Fund Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Lying To Bank To Secure $95 Million Loan
05/12/2021 12:00 AM EDT

05/10/2021 12:00 AM EDT
MACON, Ga. – A farm broker has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a scheme to defraud an investor of up to $2.1 million. Collis Robert Todd, aka C. Robert Todd, aka Collis Todd, aka Robert Todd, aka Robert C. Todd, 64, of Jesup, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell. Todd faces a maximum twenty years of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is August 18. There is no parole in the federal system.





U.S. Department of the Treasury




Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

 

Recipients will be refunded the full amount lost to scheme that threatened arrest

Explore Data RefundsThe Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Illinois Attorney General are sending payments totaling more than $4 million to more than 10,000 consumers who lost money to the Stark Law phantom debt collection scheme.

According a suit filed by the FTC and the Illinois Attorney General, Stark Law used a host of business names to target consumers who obtained or applied for payday or other short-term loans, pressuring them into paying debts they either did not owe or that the defendants had no authority to collect. The defendants allegedly called consumers and demanded immediate payment for supposedly delinquent loans, at times threatening consumers with lawsuits or arrest, falsely claiming they would be charged with “defrauding a financial institution” or “passing a bad check.”

Affected consumers are receiving full refunds, averaging $375 each. Those who receive checks should deposit or cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. The FTC never requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash a refund check

Recipients who have questions about the redress payments, or who did not receive a payment but believe they are eligible should contact the refund administrator, Epiq, at 800-858-3430.

The FTC’s interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. FTC actions led to more than $483 million in refunds to consumers across the country in 2020.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and report scams, fraud, and bad business practices online at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, get consumer alerts, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Contact Information

Contact For Consumers:
Refund Administrator
Epiq
800-858-3430

More news from the FTC >>



U.S. Department of Justice



05/03/2021 12:00 AM EDT
Neurosurgeon Wilson Asfora, M.D. of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and two medical device distributorships that he owns, Medical Designs LLC and Sicage LLC, have agreed to pay $4.4 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations relating to illegal payments to Asfora to induce the use of certain medical devices, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as claims for medically unnecessary surgeries.

Six Individuals Sentenced for Nearly $8 Million Health Care Fraud Involving Northern Virginia Pharmacies
04/16/2021 12:00 AM EDT
The last of six defendants were sentenced today for participating in multiple health care fraud conspiracies involving kickbacks and fraudulent billings that resulted in nearly $8 million in losses to federal, state, and private health care benefit programs.

 

 

 




Offices of the United States Attorneys

03/15/2021 12:00 AM EDT

An Arizona man was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for his participation in a nationwide investment fraud conspiracy that cost victims over $23 million in total losses.


02/01/2021 12:00 AM EST

A former Dublin, Ohio, woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 30 months in prison for conspiring to steal exosome-related trade secrets concerning the research, identification and treatment of a range of pediatric medical conditions. Li Chen, 47, also conspired to commit wire fraud. Chen admitted in her guilty plea in July 2020 to stealing scientific trade secrets related to exosomes and exosome isolation from Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute for her own personal financial gain.
02/01/2021 12:00 AM EST

A California man was charged in a complaint unsealed today for his alleged participation in a coordinated cryptocurrency and securities fraud scheme that used purported digital currency platforms and foreign-based financial accounts.
01/21/2021 12:00 AM EST


Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Jim Kreidler
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Using your own vehicle to deliver packages for Amazon and earn extra money. Sounds good, right? But has Amazon been keeping the tips its drivers are making when delivering for its Amazon Flex program? According to the complaint the FTC issued today, the answer is yes. 

Read more >




FTA today announced a total of $14 billion in Federal funding allocations to continue to support the Nation’s public transportation systems during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency. Funding is provided through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA) (H.R. 133), signed by President Donald J. Trump on December 27, 2020. FTA previously announced $25 billion in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding in April 2020.

FTA is allocating $14 billion to recipients of urbanized area and rural area formula funds, with $13.27 billion allocated to large and small urban areas, $678.2 million allocated to rural areas and tribes, and $50 million allocated for the enhanced mobility of seniors and individuals with disabilities. Similar to the CARES Act, the supplemental funding will be provided at 100-percent federal share, with no local match required.

CRRSAA directs recipients to prioritize payroll and operational needs. Funding will also support expenses traditionally eligible under the relevant program. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about this funding will be available on FTA’s web site. FTA will host a webinar series to provide further information.

 The U.S. Department of Transportation continues to work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other Federal partners to provide guidance to the public transportation industry in response to COVID-19. FTA has held regular conference calls and listening sessions with transit stakeholders and posted updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding COVID-19 on its web site.

Links:

News Release
FTA CRRSAA information page
Apportionments and Allocations
FAQs
CDC COVID-19 information 
Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021






The United States Department of Justice

Peter G. Strasser
United States Attorney
Eastern District of Louisiana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020

 

 


 

LOUISIANA COMPANY SENTENCED FOR ROLE IN CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE GOVERNMENT AND VIOLATE THE PROCUREMENT INTEGRITY ACT

NEW ORLEANS, La. – United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser and Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, announced that CAJAN WELDING & RENTALS LTD., a company located in Opelousas, Louisiana, was sentenced by United States District Judge Greg G. Guidry after previously pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Procurement Integrity Act, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.

According to the plea agreement, CAJAN WELDING & RENTALS LTD. conspired with unnamed co-conspirators to defraud the United States by corrupting and impairing the government procurement process, and by obtaining non-public pricing and cost information in order to obtain subcontract awards and payments from the U.S. Department of Energy in connection with its operation of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

Judge Guidry sentenced CAJAN WELDING & RENTALS LTD. to a criminal fine of $400,000 and a mandatory special assessment fee of $400.

“Fraud against the U.S. government, regardless of its scope and means of orchestration, is a serious crime.  Especially egregious is fraud that undermines the government procurement processes, which erodes public trust,” said U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Louisiana Peter G. Strasser.  “It is imperative that fair bidding procedures are preserved.  This sentencing sends a clear message that our office will vigorously investigate and prosecute all such corruption cases.”

“The investigation and prosecution of organizations that cheat, collude, and seek to undermine the integrity of government procurement remain priorities for the division,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The division is dedicated to protecting the public purse from conspiracies that rob taxpayers and critical federal programs — like the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — of the benefits of competition.”

This case is the result of a federal investigation being conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section, and the Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General.

# # #


Press Release

 

December 4, 2020

FDIC Issues List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance

 

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today issued its list of state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The list covers evaluation ratings that the FDIC assigned to institutions in September 2020.

 

The CRA is a 1977 law intended to encourage insured banks and thrifts to meet local credit needs, including those of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations. As part of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), Congress mandated the public disclosure of an evaluation and rating for each bank or thrift that undergoes a CRA examination on or after July 1, 1990.

 

You may obtain a consolidated list of all state nonmember banks whose evaluations have been made publicly available since July 1, 1990, including the rating for each bank, or obtain a hard copy from FDIC's Public Information Center, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, VA 22226 (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200).

 

A copy of an individual bank's CRA evaluation is available directly from the bank, which is required by law to make the material available upon request, or from the FDIC's Public Information Center.

 

Attachments:
December 2020 List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance
Monthly List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance

 


 

FDIC: PR-132-2020





U.S. Department of Justice


12/03/2020 12:00 AM EST
A Maryland lawyer was charged in an 11-count indictment for his alleged role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain control of more than $12.5 million that was held by financial institutions on behalf of the Somali government, to improperly take part of those funds for fees and expenses, and to launder a portion of those funds to accounts for the benefit of his co-conspirators.


11/30/2020 12:00 AM EST
An Indian national was sentenced today to 20 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release in the Southern District of Texas for his role in operating and funding India-based call centers that defrauded U.S. victims out of millions of dollars between 2013 and 2016.


Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Settlement Of Lawsuit Against Pharmacist For Fraudulent Billing Practices
11/24/2020 12:00 AM EST

WASHINGTON – Doctor’s Choice Home Care, Inc. and its former executives, Timothy Beach and Stuart Christensen, have agreed to pay $5.15 million to resolve allegations that the home health agency provided improper financial inducements to referring physicians through sham medical director agreements and bonuses to physicians’ spouses who were Doctor’s Choice employees, the Department of Justice announced today.




The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020

WWW.JUSTICE.GOV/NEWS

 

 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FILES ANTITRUST CASE AND SIMULTANEOUS SETTLEMENT REQUIRING NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® TO REPEAL AND MODIFY CERTAIN ANTICOMPETITIVE RULES

Settlement Will Increase Competition to the Benefit of American Homeowners and Homebuyers and Allow for Innovation in Brokerage Markets

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today filed a civil lawsuit against the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) alleging that NAR established and enforced illegal restraints on the ways that REALTORS® compete.

The Antitrust Division simultaneously filed a proposed settlement that requires NAR to repeal and modify its rules to provide greater transparency to home buyers about the commissions of brokers representing home buyers (buyer brokers), cease misrepresenting that buyer broker services are free, eliminate rules that prohibit filtering multiple listing services (MLS) listings based on the level of buyer broker commissions, and change its rules and policy which limit access to lockboxes to only NAR-affiliated real estate brokers. If approved, the settlement will enhance competition in the real estate market, resulting in more choice and better service for consumers.

“Buying a home is one of life’s biggest and most important financial decisions,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Home buyers and sellers should be aware of all the broker fees they are paying. Today’s settlement prevents traditional brokers from impeding competition — including by internet-based methods of home buying and selling — by providing greater transparency to consumers about broker fees. This will increase price competition among brokers and lead to better quality of services for American home buyers and sellers.”

According to the complaint, NAR’s anticompetitive rules, policies, and practices include: (i) prohibiting MLSs that are affiliated with NAR from disclosing to prospective buyers the commission that the buyer broker will earn; (ii) allowing buyer brokers to misrepresent to buyers that a buyer broker’s services are free; (iii) enabling buyer brokers to filter MLS listings based on the level of buyer broker commissions offered; and (iv) limiting access to the lockboxes that provide licensed brokers with access to homes for sale to brokers who work for a NAR-affiliated MLS. These NAR rules, policies, practices have been widely adopted by NAR-affiliated MLSs resulting in decreased competition among real estate brokers.

NAR is a trade association of more than 1.4 million-member REALTORS® who are engaged in residential real estate brokerages across the United States. NAR has over 1,400 local associations (called “Member Boards”) organized as MLSs through which REALTORS® share information about homes for sale in their communities. Among other activities, NAR establishes and enforces rules, policies, and practices that are adopted by the Member Boards and their affiliated MLSs.

The proposed settlement will be published in the Federal Register as required by the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act. Any person may submit written comments regarding the proposed final judgment within 60 days of its publications to Chief, Office of Decree Enforcement and Compliance, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the proposed final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.

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Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

 

The Federal Trade Commission has sent a warning letter to a company that markets financial aid prep assistance to post-secondary students, notifying the company that it could potentially be misleading consumers about access to a coronavirus relief program.

The letter to the operators of Frank Financial Aid (Frank) highlights the company’s claims that it gives students “everything you need” to apply for emergency grants available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and that there are four identified eligibility criteria for the emergency relief.

In fact, as the FTC’s letter notes, Frank’s purported assistance to students consists primarily of providing a form letter that may lack the information a student would need to apply for one of the grants from his or her school. The CARES Act program for students is administered by individual colleges and universities, and each has its own unique application process and grant eligibility criteria.

The FTC’s letter also warns Frank about offers of cash advances that can be paid back “when your financial aid comes in” and with “no interest, no fees – ever.”  The letter notes that the company’s terms, however, appear to require the advance to be paid back within 61 days, whether or not the student has received any aid from his or her college or university by that time.  Additionally, Frank charges a $19.90 monthly fee, according to the FTC’s letter.

The letter warns Frank to take prompt action to ensure all deceptive or unlawful claims are removed or corrected, and any other required disclosures are provided. The letter also instructs the company to notify the FTC by November 17 about the specific actions it has taken to address the agency’s concerns.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and report scams, fraud, and bad business practices online at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, get consumer alerts, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Contact Information

Contact For Consumers:

Warning Letters



Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

 

The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling nearly $1.5 million to individuals who were affected by allegedly unlawful financing and sales practices by Bronx Honda.

According to the FTC, Bronx Honda and its general manager told sales employees to charge higher financing markups and fees to African-American and Hispanic customers. The defendants told employees that these groups should be targeted due to their limited education, and not to attempt the same practices with non-Hispanic white consumers.

The FTC further alleged that Bronx Honda failed to honor advertised sale prices, changed the sales price on paperwork in the middle of the sale without telling the consumer, double-charged consumers for taxes and fees, and misrepresented to consumers that they were required to pay extra reconditioning and warranty fees to purchase “certified” vehicles.

The FTC is providing refunds, averaging about $371 each, to 3,977 victims of Bronx Honda’s practices. Those who receive checks should deposit or cash their checks within 60 days, as indicated on the check. The FTC never requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash a refund check.

Recipients who have questions about the refunds, or consumers who financed a car purchase from Bronx Honda in 2016 through 2018 and have not previously requested a refund, should contact JND Legal Administration at 888-921-0727.

The FTC’s interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. FTC actions led to more than $642 million in refunds to consumers across the country in fiscal year 2020.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and report fraud online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.


Contact Information

Contact For Consumers:
Refund Administrator
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U.S. Department of Justice


11/05/2020 12:00 AM EST


11/05/2020 12:00 AM EST
Seattle - A 36-year-old Bothell, Washington man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to securities fraud for his insider trading activity, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran

11/05/2020 12:00 AM EST
An Arizona man pleaded guilty today to a massive investment fraud conspiracy that cost victims tens of millions of dollars.


Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Mail Fraud Conspiracy Charge in Maryland for Scamming Elderly Victims of More Than $939,000
11/04/2020 12:00 AM EST
David Green, age 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida, pleaded guilty yesterday to a federal mail fraud conspiracy charge, in connection with a scheme in which he defrauded more than 28 elderly victims of more than $939,000.
11/04/2020 12:00 AM EST

TULSA, Okla. – A Norman man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court for his role as a money launderer in a Nigerian romance scam that defrauded multiple victims, including elder Americans, of millions, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. Afeez Olajide Adebara, 35, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering before U.S. District Court Judge Gregory K. Frizzell. Adebara’s sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 3, 2021.


U.S. Department of the Treasury Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates Update

Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates for U.S. Department of the Treasury. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=yield







U.S. Department of Justice

10/28/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) public affairs officer was sentenced today to seven years in prison for defrauding at least a dozen companies of over $4.4 million by posing falsely as a covert officer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Beam Suntory Inc. Agrees to Pay Over $19 Million to Resolve Criminal Foreign Bribery Case
10/27/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Beam Suntory Inc. (Beam), a Chicago-based company that produces and sells distilled beverages, has agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $19,572,885 to resolve the department’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

10/27/2020 12:00 AM EDT

10/26/2020 12:00 AM EDT

Marquet Antwain Burgess Mattox, AKA Marquet Antwain Burgess Mattox El, AKA Marquet Burgess Mattox, AKA Asim Ashunta El, AKA Asim El Bey, 48, of Lilburn, Georgia was charged by a federal grand jury on September 17 with nine counts of wire fraud, ten counts of false claims against the U.S. Government and one count of theft of government funds.


Press Release

 

October 16, 2020

United Fidelity Bank, fsb, Evansville, Indiana, Assumes All of the Deposits of First City Bank of Florida, Fort Walton Beach, Florida

 

FDIC Customer Service Call Center
Toll Free - 1-800-517-8236

 

WASHINGTON – First City Bank of Florida, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was closed today by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. The failed bank experienced longstanding capital and asset quality issues, operating with financial difficulties dating back to 2009, which are not related to the current economic conditions resulting from the pandemic.

 

To protect depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with United Fidelity Bank, fsb in Evansville, Indiana, to assume all of the deposits of First City Bank of Florida. The two branches of First City Bank of Florida will reopen as branches of United Fidelity Bank, fsb on Saturday, October 17. The drive-up windows will be open during normal business hours; however, lobbies of these locations will remain accessible by appointment only. The FDIC strongly encourages bank customers to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on social distancing and utilize online and electronic banking capabilities.

 

Depositors of First City Bank of Florida will automatically become depositors of United Fidelity Bank, fsb. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, and customers do not need to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of First City Bank of Florida should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from United Fidelity Bank, fsb that it has completed systems changes to allow other United Fidelity Bank, fsb branches to process their accounts as well.

 

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of First City Bank of Florida can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

 

As of June 30, 2020, First City Bank of Florida had approximately $134.7 million in total assets and $131.4 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits, United Fidelity Bank, fsb agreed to purchase essentially all of the failed bank’s assets.

 

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $10 million. Compared to other alternatives, United Fidelity Bank, fsb’s acquisition was the least costly resolution for the DIF, which is an insurance fund created by Congress in 1933 and managed by the FDIC to protect the deposits at the nation’s banks.

 

Customers with questions about the transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-517-8236. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Central Time (CT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., CT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., CT; on Monday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., CT; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., CT. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's website.

 

 

FDIC: PR-112-2020


NYSE

NYSE PILLAR - SESSIONS FOR NYSE FLOOR BROKERS - UPDATE

The introduction of NYSE Pillar sessions for Floor Broker systems scheduled to begin on October 19, 2020 is being postponed until November 9, 2020.


10/15/2020 12:00 AM EDT

Fourteen members of the transnational criminal organization, QQAAZZ, were charged by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania in an indictment unsealed today.  A related indictment unsealed in October 2019 charged five members of QQAAZZ.  One additional conspirator, a Russian national, was arrested by criminal complaint in late March 2020 while visiting the United States, bringing the total number of charged defendants to 20.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady for the Western District of Pennsylvania, made the announcement today.





10/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT
J&F Investimentos S.A. (J&F), a Brazil-based investment company that owns and controls companies involved in multiple industries, including the meat and agriculture industry, has agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $256,497,026 to resolve the department’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  The resolution arises out of J&F’s scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to government officials in Brazil in exchange for obtaining financing and other benefits for J&F and J&F-owned entities.
10/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT
PROVIDENCE – Four individuals in Florida have been arrested and more than $1.2 million dollars in cash has been seized in a wide-ranging, ongoing joint federal and state investigation into a significant number of fraudulent unemployment insurance claims submitted to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RIDLT), and elsewhere, for benefits funded in part by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act was passed by Congress to assist, among others, individuals whose employment has been impacted by the pandemic.
10/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT
U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel yesterday sentenced Saulina Helen Eady, age 38, of Los Angeles, California, to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain goods using what appeared to be a military e-mail address, but was actually a registered Yahoo e-mail address. Judge Hazel also entered an order requiring Eady to forfeit and to pay restitution in the full amount of one of the victim’s losses, which is $640,172.80. Eady has been detained since her arrest in October 2018.


Office of the Press Secretary
PRESIDENTIAL PERMIT
 
AUTHORIZING EXPRESS PIPELINE, LLC, TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN EXISTING PIPELINE FACILITIES AT THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
 
 
     By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America (the "President"), I hereby grant this Presidential permit, subject to the conditions herein set forth, to Express Pipeline, LLC (the "permittee").  The permittee is a limited liability corporation incorporated in the State of Delaware.  Permission is hereby granted to the permittee to operate and maintain existing pipeline Border facilities, as described herein, at the international border of the United States and Canada near Wild Horse, Montana, for the transport between the United States and Canada of all hydrocarbons and petroleum products of every description, refined or unrefined (inclusive of, but not limited to, crude oil, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel), but not including natural gas subject to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 717b).
 
     This permit supersedes and revokes the Presidential permit issued to the permittee, dated July 9, 2015, see 80 Fed. Reg. 45695 (July 31, 2015); the Presidential permit issued to the permittee, dated September 27, 2004; and the Presidential permit issued to the permittee's predecessor in interest, Express Pipeline Partnership, dated August 30, 1996.
 
     This permit does not affect the applicability of any otherwise-relevant laws and regulations.  As confirmed in Article 2 of this permit, the Border facilities shall remain subject to all such laws and regulations.
 
     The term "Facilities," as used in this permit, means the portion in the United States of the international pipeline project associated with the permittee's November 6, 2019, application for an amendment to its existing permit, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
 
     The term "Border facilities," as used in this permit, means those parts of the Facilities consisting of a 24-inch diameter pipeline in existence at the time of this permit's issuance extending from the international border between the United States and Canada near Wild Horse, Montana, to and including the first mainline shut-off valve located in the United States, approximately 5.89 miles from the international border, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
 
     This permit is subject to the following conditions:
 
     Article 1.  The Border facilities herein described, and all aspects of their operation, shall be subject to all the conditions, provisions, and requirements of this permit and any subsequent Presidential amendment to it.  This permit may be terminated, revoked, or amended at any time at the sole discretion of the President, with or without advice provided by any executive department or agency (agency).  The permittee shall make no substantial change in the Border facilities, in the location of the Border facilities, or in the operation authorized by this permit unless the President has approved the change in an amendment to this permit or in a new permit.  Such substantial changes do not include, and the permittee may make, changes to the average daily throughput capacity of the Border facilities to any volume of products that is achievable through the Border facilities, and to the directional flow of any such products.
 
     Article 2.  The standards for, and the manner of, operation and maintenance of the Border facilities shall be subject to inspection by the representatives of appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies.  Officers and employees of such agencies who are duly authorized and performing their official duties shall be granted free and unrestricted access to the Border facilities by the permittee.  The Border facilities, including the operation and maintenance of the Border facilities, shall be subject to all applicable laws and regulations, including pipeline safety laws and regulations issued or administered by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
 
     Article 3.  Upon the termination, revocation, or surrender of this permit, unless otherwise decided by the President, the permittee, at its own expense, shall remove the Border facilities within such time as the President may specify.  If the permittee fails to comply with an order to remove, or to take such other appropriate action with respect to, the Border facilities, the President may direct an appropriate official or agency to take possession of the Border facilities -- or to remove the Border facilities or take other action -- at the expense of the permittee.  The permittee shall have no claim for damages caused by any such possession, removal, or other action.
 
     Article 4.  When, in the judgment of the President, ensuring the national security of the United States requires entering upon and taking possession of any of the Border facilities or parts thereof, and retaining possession, management, or control thereof for such a length of time as the President may deem necessary, the United States shall have the right to do so, provided that the President or his designee has given due notice to the permittee.  The United States shall also have the right thereafter to restore possession and control to the permittee.  In the event that the United States exercises the rights described in this article, it shall pay to the permittee just and fair compensation for the use of such Border facilities, upon the basis of a reasonable profit in normal conditions, and shall bear the cost of restoring the Border facilities to their previous condition, less the reasonable value of any improvements that may have been made by the United States.
 
     Article 5.  Any transfer of ownership or control of the Border facilities, or any part thereof, or any changes to the name of the permittee, shall be immediately communicated in writing to the President or his designee, and shall include information identifying any transferee.  Notwithstanding any such transfers or changes, this permit shall remain in force subject to all of its conditions, permissions, and requirements, and any amendments thereto, unless subsequently terminated, revoked, or amended by the President.
 
     Article 6.  (1)  The permittee is responsible for acquiring any right-of-way grants or easements, permits, and other authorizations as may become necessary or appropriate.
 
     (2)  The permittee shall hold harmless and indemnify the United States from any claimed or adjudged liability arising out of construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities, including environmental contamination from the release, threatened release, or discharge of hazardous substances or hazardous waste.
 
     (3)  To ensure the safe operation of the Border facilities, the permittee shall maintain them and every part of them in a condition of good repair and in compliance with applicable law.
 
     Article 7.  The permittee shall file with the President or his designee, and with appropriate agencies, such sworn statements or reports with respect to the Border facilities, or the permittee's activities and operations in connection therewith, as are now, or may hereafter, be required under any law or regulation of the United States Government or its agencies.  These reporting obligations do not alter the intent that this permit be operative as a directive issued by the President alone.
 
     Article 8.  Upon request, the permittee shall provide appropriate information to the President or his designee with regard to the Border facilities.  Such requests could include, for example, information concerning current conditions or anticipated changes in ownership or control, construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities.
 
     Article 9.  This permit is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
 
     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, have hereunto set my hand this third day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.
 
 
                               DONALD J. TRUMP



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Office of the Press Secretary
PRESIDENTIAL PERMIT
 
AUTHORIZING FRONT RANGE PIPELINE, LLC, TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN EXISTING PIPELINE FACILITIES AT THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
 
 
     By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America (the "President"), I hereby grant this Presidential permit, subject to the conditions herein set forth, to Front Range Pipeline, LLC (the "permittee").  The permittee is a wholly owned subsidiary of CHS Inc., an agricultural business cooperative incorporated in the State of Minnesota.  Permission is hereby granted to the permittee to operate and maintain existing pipeline Border facilities, as described herein, at the international border of the United States and Canada at Toole County, Montana, for the transport between the United States and Canada of all hydrocarbons and petroleum products of every description, refined or unrefined (inclusive of, but not limited to, crude oil, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel), but not including natural gas subject to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 717b).
 
     This permit does not affect the applicability of any otherwise-relevant laws and regulations.  As confirmed in Article 2 of this permit, the Border facilities shall remain subject to all such laws and regulations.
 
     The term "Facilities," as used in this permit, means the portion in the United States of the international pipeline project associated with the permittee's April 30, 2019, application for a Presidential permit, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
 
     The term "Border facilities," as used in this permit, means those parts of the Facilities consisting of one 10-inch diameter pipeline and one 12-inch diameter pipeline in existence at the time of this permit's issuance extending from the international border between the United States and Canada at Toole County, Montana, to and including the first mainline shut-off valve in the United States, located in that county approximately one third of a mile from the international border, and any land, structures, installations, or equipment appurtenant thereto.
 
     This permit is subject to the following conditions:
 
     Article 1.  The Border facilities herein described, and all aspects of their operation, shall be subject to all the conditions, provisions, and requirements of this permit and any subsequent Presidential amendment to it.  This permit may be terminated, revoked, or amended at any time at the sole discretion of the President, with or without advice provided by any executive department or agency (agency).  The permittee shall make no substantial change in the Border facilities, in the location of the Border facilities, or in the operation authorized by this permit unless the President has approved the change in an amendment to this permit or in a new permit.  Such substantial changes do not include, and the permittee may make, changes to the average daily throughput capacity of the Border facilities to any volume of products that is achievable through the Border facilities, and to the directional flow of any such products.
 
     Article 2.  The standards for, and the manner of, operation and maintenance of the Border facilities shall be subject to inspection by the representatives of appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies.  Officers and employees of such agencies who are duly authorized and performing their official duties shall be granted free and unrestricted access to the Border facilities by the permittee.  The Border facilities, including the operation and maintenance of the Border facilities, shall be subject to all applicable laws and regulations, including pipeline safety laws and regulations issued or administered by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
 
     Article 3.  Upon the termination, revocation, or surrender of this permit, unless otherwise decided by the President, the permittee, at its own expense, shall remove the Border facilities within such time as the President may specify.  If the permittee fails to comply with an order to remove, or to take such other appropriate action with respect to, the Border facilities, the President may direct an appropriate official or agency to take possession of the Border facilities -- or to remove the Border facilities or take other action -- at the expense of the permittee.  The permittee shall have no claim for damages caused by any such possession, removal, or other action.
 
     Article 4.  When, in the judgment of the President, ensuring the national security of the United States requires entering upon and taking possession of any of the Border facilities or parts thereof, and retaining possession, management, or control thereof for such a length of time as the President may deem necessary, the United States shall have the right to do so, provided that the President or his designee has given due notice to the permittee.  The United States shall also have the right thereafter to restore possession and control to the permittee.  In the event that the United States exercises the rights described in this article, it shall pay to the permittee just and fair compensation for the use of such Border facilities, upon the basis of a reasonable profit in normal conditions, and shall bear the cost of restoring the Border facilities to their previous condition, less the reasonable value of any improvements that may have been made by the United States.
 
     Article 5.  Any transfer of ownership or control of the Border facilities, or any part thereof, or any changes to the name of the permittee, shall be immediately communicated in writing to the President or his designee, and shall include information identifying any transferee.  Notwithstanding any such transfers or changes, this permit shall remain in force subject to all of its conditions, permissions, and requirements, and any amendments thereto, unless subsequently terminated, revoked, or amended by the President.
 
     Article 6.  (1)  The permittee is responsible for acquiring any right-of-way grants or easements, permits, and other authorizations as may become necessary or appropriate.
 
     (2)  The permittee shall hold harmless and indemnify the United States from any claimed or adjudged liability arising out of construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities, including environmental contamination from the release, threatened release, or discharge of hazardous substances or hazardous waste.
 
     (3)  To ensure the safe operation of the Border facilities, the permittee shall maintain them and every part of them in a condition of good repair and in compliance with applicable law.
 
     Article 7.  The permittee shall file with the President or his designee, and with appropriate agencies, such sworn statements or reports with respect to the Border facilities, or the permittee's activities and operations in connection therewith, as are now, or may hereafter, be required under any law or regulation of the United States Government or its agencies.  These reporting obligations do not alter the intent that this permit be operative as a directive issued by the President alone.
 
     Article 8.  Upon request, the permittee shall provide appropriate information to the President or his designee with regard to the Border facilities.  Such requests could include, for example, information concerning current conditions or anticipated changes in ownership or control, construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of the Border facilities.
 
     Article 9.  This permit is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
 
     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, have hereunto set my hand this third day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.
 
 
                               DONALD J. TRUMP



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A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Dr. William Harwin, founder and former President of Florida Cancer Specialists & Researc











Press Release

 

October 5, 2020

FDIC Issues List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance

 

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today issued its list of state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).  The list covers evaluation ratings that the FDIC assigned to institutions in July 2020. 

 

The CRA is a 1977 law intended to encourage insured banks and thrifts to meet local credit needs, including those of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations.  As part of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), Congress mandated the public disclosure of an evaluation and rating for each bank or thrift that undergoes a CRA examination on or after July 1, 1990.

 

You may obtain a consolidated list of all state nonmember banks whose evaluations have been made publicly available since July 1, 1990, including the rating for each bank, or obtain a hard copy from FDIC's Public Information Center, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, VA 22226 (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200).

 

A copy of an individual bank's CRA evaluation is available directly from the bank, which is required by law to make the material available upon request, or from the FDIC's Public Information Center.


Attachments:

###

FDIC: PR-107-2020


09/29/2020 12:00 AM EDT

09/29/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A South Texas doctor has agreed to pay $3,234,900.50 to resolve allegations he fraudulently submitted claims to the Medicare program for medically unnecessary tests and procedures


The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
   

 

FORMER CANCER CENTER PRESIDENT INDICTED FOR PARTICIPATION IN LONG-RUNNING ANTITRUST CONSPIRACY

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Dr. William Harwin, founder and former President of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS), for conspiring to allocate medical and radiation oncology treatments for patients in Southwest Florida, the Department of Justice announced today.

The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Florida, charges Harwin for participating in a criminal conspiracy with a competing oncology group in Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties (Southwest Florida).  Beginning as early as 1999 and continuing until at least 2016, Harwin and his co-conspirators entered into an illegal agreement to allocate medical oncology treatments, such as chemotherapy, to FCS and radiation oncology treatments to a competing oncology group.  The conspiracy allowed FCS and the competing oncology group to operate with minimal competition in Southwest Florida and limited valuable integrated care options and choices for cancer patients. 

“As the charge demonstrates, the division remains committed to holding culpable executives accountable for their crimes, especially when they impact vulnerable Americans, such as those in need of life-saving treatments,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The Antitrust Division will continue to work to protect competition and integrity in the healthcare industry.” 

“It is unconscionable for a doctor to prioritize profits over patient care,"  said Michael F. McPherson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Tampa Field Office.  “The FBI will persist in exposing unscrupulous medical providers who deny the public access to a competitive healthcare marketplace.”

The indictment follows a felony charge filed against FCS in April 2020 for its role in the same conspiracy in which Harwin is alleged to have participated.  The Antitrust Division and FCS resolved the charge with a deferred prosecution agreement, under which the company admitted to conspiring to allocate treatments for cancer patients and agreed to pay a $100 million criminal penalty.  FCS also agreed to waive and refrain from enforcing any non-compete provisions with its current or former oncologists or other employees who, during the term of the deferred prosecution agreement, open or join an oncology practice in Southwest Florida. 

An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The charge in the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals.  The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims if either amount is greater than $1 million.

Today’s announcement is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct in the oncology industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section and the FBI’s Tampa Field Office – Fort Myers R.A.  Anyone with information in connection with this investigation or anticompetitive conduct in the healthcare industry generally is urged to contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

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Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Bridget Small
Division of Consumer & Business Education

Refund checks worth about $147 million are going out to almost 33,000 people who sent money to scammers through Western Union wire transfers. This is the second group of payments related to the Western Union settlement. These refunds are going to people in the US and other countries, including many older adults who lost money to grandparent, lottery, sweepstakes, or romance scams.

Read more >

Department of Justice

09/16/2020 12:00 AM EDT


09/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT
The U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced today a proposed settlement with German automaker Daimler AG and its American subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (collectively, “Daimler”) resolving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and California law associated with emissions cheating. 
09/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT

09/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, John Comito, Chief Executive Officer of AutoExec Computer Systems, Inc., pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann to wire fraud in connection with his theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars that was earmarked for the installation of internet access at 26 Catholic Elementary, Middle and High Schools in New York City.

Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

 

Settlements will permanently prohibit defendants from charity fundraising business, require them to pay back money for use by legitimate charities

A sprawling fundraising operation that allegedly scammed consumers out of millions of dollars will be permanently banned from charitable fundraising along with its owner and others involved in its operation as a result of a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission and Attorneys General of New York, Virginia, Minnesota, and New Jersey.

The operation is made up of multiple companies all under the control of owner Mark Gelvan, along with his associates Thomas Berkenbush, William English, and Damian Muziani. The complaint filed by the FTC and the states alleges that the defendants served as the primary fundraisers for a number of sham charities that were the subject of numerous law enforcement actions.

The complaint alleges that the sham charities claimed to use consumers’ donations to help homeless veterans, retired and disabled law enforcement officers, breast cancer survivors, and others in need. In fact, these organizations spent almost none of the donations on the promised activities.

“This action puts fundraisers on notice:  the FTC will not only shut down sham charities, it will aggressively pursue their fundraisers who participate in the deception,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “If you’re giving to charity and want to make sure your donations count, start at ftc.gov/charity to learn how to spot the scams.”

“It is critically important that donors are able to trust that their contributions are being used as they intended, and not to line the pockets of individuals who exploit the generosity of others,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “My office will continue to work with partners such as the FTC and other states to take action that protects donors and charitable entities.”

The complaint alleges that as much as 90 percent of the money raised by the defendants for these sham charities went to the defendants themselves as payment for their fundraising services. What little money the charities did receive was rarely spent on any of their supposedly charitable missions, sometimes less than two percent.

According to the complaint, the defendants orchestrated the sham charities’ fundraising operations by soliciting donations, writing fundraising materials, and providing other key support to the sham charities. Defendants placed calls misrepresenting how donations would be used, and in many instances, the calls violated consumers’ do-not-call requests.

The defendants in the case, who have worked with each other for as long as 30 years, have been subject to numerous law enforcement actions dating back as far as 1996.

Under the proposed settlements, all of the defendants will be permanently prohibited from participating in any charity fundraising, and from deceiving consumers in any other fundraising effort, including for political action committees (PACs). The defendants will be required to clearly inform consumers at the time they ask for money that any donations are not charitable and not eligible for tax deductions. In addition, the defendants will be subject to significant monetary judgments and required to surrender assets as follows:

Gelvan, Outreach Calling, Inc., Outsource 3000, Inc., and Production Consulting Corp.: These defendants will be subject to a monetary judgment of $56,023,481, which is partially suspended based on their inability to pay. The corporate defendants will be required to surrender $45,386. Gelvan will be required to surrender $800,000, and will be required to sell two New Jersey properties he has a stake in and surrender any net proceeds of those sales.

Damian Muziani: Muziani will be subject to a monetary judgment of $484,172, which is partially suspended due to his inability to pay. He will be required to surrender $12,369.

Thomas BerkenbushBerkenbush will be subject to a monetary judgment of $1,132,155, which is partiall suspended due to his inability to pay. He will be required to surrender $5,000.

William English: English will be subject to a monetary judgment of $873,293, which is partially suspended due to his inability to pay. He will be required to surrender $30,000. The terms of his settlement also prohibit him from participating in any fundraising activity of any kind.

The funds being surrendered by the defendants will be paid to the State of New York, which will contribute the funds on behalf of New York, Virginia, and New Jersey to legitimate charities that perform services that mirror those promised by the sham charities.

In the event any of the defendants either fails to surrender the amounts they owe or is found to have misrepresented their ability to pay, the full amount of their judgment would become payable immediately.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint and stipulated final orders was 3-0-2, with Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Christine S. Wilson recorded as not participating. The FTC filed the complaint and final orders in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

NOTE: The Commission files 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 final orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).

Contact Information

Contact For Consumers:



Press Release

 

September 4, 2020

FDIC Issues List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance

 

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today issued its list of state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).  The list covers evaluation ratings that the FDIC assigned to institutions in June 2020. 

 

The CRA is a 1977 law intended to encourage insured banks and thrifts to meet local credit needs, including those of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations.  As part of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), Congress mandated the public disclosure of an evaluation and rating for each bank or thrift that undergoes a CRA examination on or after July 1, 1990.

 

You may obtain a consolidated list of all state nonmember banks whose evaluations have been made publicly available since July 1, 1990, including the rating for each bank, or obtain a hard copy from FDIC's Public Information Center, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, VA 22226 (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200).

 

A copy of an individual bank's CRA evaluation is available directly from the bank, which is required by law to make the material available upon request, or from the FDIC's Public Information Center.

 

Attachments:


# # #

 

 

FDIC: PR-101-2020



Offices of the United States Attorneys
09/03/2020 12:00 AM EDT

09/03/2020 12:00 AM EDT

09/03/2020 12:00 AM EDT

An international conspiracy that profited from drug trafficking and the illegal wildlife trade and conspired to hide the illegal nature of the proceeds has been shut down in a multi-agency law enforcement operation.
09/03/2020 12:00 AM EDT

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, announces several recent arrests in “Operation Pocket Dial” – a joint investigation targeting heroin and fentanyl distribution networks in Tampa and Kissimmee.


Offices of the United States Attorneys
08/28/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A federal grand jury has indicted Dennis Mbongeni Jali, age 35, formerly of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; John Erasmus Frimpong, age 40, of Upper Marlboro; and Arley Ray Johnson, age 61, of Bowie, Maryland on federal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. The indictment was returned on July 27, 2020, and was unsealed today.
Florida Man Sentenced to 105 Months in Prison for Role in $16 Million Miami Health Care Fraud and Wire Fraud Scheme
08/26/2020 12:00 AM EDT

Miami, Fl. – A federal judge in Miami sentenced Roberto Murillo, 44, of North Port, Florida, to 105 months in prison for his role in a massive health care fraud and wire fraud scheme involving fraudulent physical therapy claims. Senior U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz imposed the sentence, which came after a Miami jury found Murillo guilty in January 2020 of all counts charged, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and several counts of health care fraud.


Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

 

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that Eldorado’s $17.3 billion agreement to acquire Caesars likely would violate federal antitrust law.

According to the complaint, which was first announced in June, the proposed acquisition would likely harm competition for casino services in the South Lake Tahoe area of Nevada and the Bossier City-Shreveport area of Louisiana.

The final order requires the parties to divest casino-related assets to Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc. in both markets. Independent of its proposed acquisition of Caesars, Eldorado sold its Isle of Capri casino in Kansas City, Missouri on July 2, 2020, obviating the need for the Commission to take any further action to protect competition in that area.

The Commission vote to approve the final order was 3-1-1.  Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter did not participate and Commissioner Rohit Chopra voted no.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint.  

Contact Information



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The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2020
   

 

SEVENTH GENERIC DRUG MANUFACTURER IS CHARGED IN ONGOING CRIMINAL ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION

Consumers Were Allegedly Overcharged at Least $350 Million

WASHINGTON – Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. (Teva) has been charged with conspiring to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs, the Department of Justice announced today.  

According to a superseding indictment filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the company participated in three conspiracies from at least as early as May 2013 until at least in or around Dec. 2015.  

“Today’s charge reaffirms that no company is too big to be prosecuted for its role in conspiracies that led to substantially higher prices for generic drugs relied on by millions of Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The division will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure that companies that blatantly cheat consumers of the benefits of free markets are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Count one charges Teva for its role in a conspiracy that included Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA (Glenmark), Apotex Corp. (Apotex), and others.  On May 7, Apotex admitted to its role in this conspiracy and agreed to pay a $24.1 million penalty.  On July 14, a grand jury returned an indictment against Glenmark for its role in the same conspiracy, which today’s indictment supersedes.  According to the charge, Teva, Glenmark, Apotex, and unnamed co-conspirators agreed to increase prices for pravastatin and other generic drugs.  Pravastatin is a commonly prescribed cholesterol medication that lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke. 

Count two charges Teva for its role in a conspiracy with Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (Taro U.S.A.), its former executive Ara Aprahamian, and others.  On July 23, Taro U.S.A. admitted to its role in this conspiracy and agreed to pay a $205.7 million penalty to resolve that charge as well as its role in a separate antitrust conspiracy.  Aprahamian was indicted in February 2020 for his role in the conspiracy with Teva, among other charges, and is awaiting trial.  According to the charge, Teva and its co-conspirators agreed to increase prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs including, but not limited to, drugs used to treat and manage arthritis, seizures, pain, skin conditions, and blood clots. 

Count three charges Teva for its role in a conspiracy with Sandoz Inc. and others.  In March 2020, Sandoz admitted to its role in this conspiracy, as well as in conspiracies with other generic drug manufacturers, and agreed to pay a $195 million penalty.  According to the charge, Teva and its co-conspirators agreed to increase prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs including, but not limited to, drugs used to treat brain cancer, cystic fibrosis, arthritis, and hypertension.

“During these difficult times, it is absolutely essential that our pharmaceutical companies conduct business with the well-being of the consumer in mind,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Steven Stuller, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  “When generic drug companies conspire to artificially increase prices, they do so to the detriment of many who depend on these medications to maintain good health.  Along with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the USPS Office of Inspector General remains committed to investigating those who would engage in this type of harmful conduct.”

“Today’s charges, the latest in a series of law enforcement actions taken against large drug companies, confirm that this kind of criminal behavior in the generic pharmaceutical industry will not be tolerated,” said James A. Dawson, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  “Price fixing and bid rigging is a crime, and the American people—who rely on these drugs to treat serious ailments—are the ones who pay the price when companies like Teva conspire to raise their costs.  The FBI remains committed to holding companies accountable for their illegal and reprehensible activity.”

“Today’s superseding indictment against Teva is another important step in this ongoing criminal investigation, which has already recovered hundreds of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  “Along with our partners at the Antitrust Division, we remain heavily focused on illegal price fixing and market allocation in generic drugs and on addressing the impact those practices have on federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid.”

Teva is the seventh company to be charged for its participation in conspiracies to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs.  Five previous corporate cases were resolved by deferred prosecution agreements, and Teva’s co-conspirator Glenmark is awaiting trial.  Four executives have also been charged; three have entered guilty pleas, and one is awaiting trial.

A criminal charge merely alleges that crimes have been committed.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Each of the charged offenses carry a statutory maximum penalty of $100 million for companies.  The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than $100 million.  

This case is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, market allocation, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the generic pharmaceutical industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division with the assistance of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington and Philadelphia Field Offices, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  Anyone with information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging, or other anticompetitive conduct related to the generic pharmaceutical industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

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logoNYSE TRADER UPDATE
 
08/17/2020, 13:51

NYSE - NEW SECURITY NOTIFICATION FOR SYMBOL NYC

NYSE has determined that the Class A Common Stock issued by New York City REIT, Inc. is part of a new security offering that will trade under the ticker NYC with CUSIP 649439205 on August 18, 2020. As this new offering has not previously traded on any listing market and has no prior day's closing price, Regulation SHO Rule 201 will not apply to security NYC until its second day of trading on NYSE. Further, NYSE Rule 123D(d) will apply and the security will be in a regulatory halt until the NYSE has opened trading.



08/18/2020 12:00 AM EDT
BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., and Teva Neuroscience, Inc., the maker of Copaxone, a drug for multiple sclerosis (MS).

Puerto Rico Legislator Indicted for Theft, Bribery, and Fraud
08/17/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a 13-count indictment against legislator María Milagros Charbonier-Laureano (Charbonier), aka “Tata,” a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, as well as her husband Orlando Montes-Rivera (Montes), their son Orlando Gabriel Montes-Charbonier, and her assistant Frances Acevedo-Ceballos (Acevedo), for their alleged participation in a years-long theft, bribery, and kickback conspiracy.


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The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2020

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT BRINGS ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST CENTURYLINK

In Significant Action, CenturyLink Agrees to Extend Term, Appoint Independent Monitor, and Reimburse Taxpayers for the Costs and Fees of the Violations

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that CenturyLink, Inc. has agreed to settle allegations that CenturyLink violated the court-ordered Final Judgment designed to prevent anticompetitive effects arising from its acquisition of Level 3 Communications, Inc. 

Despite provisions in the Final Judgment barring CenturyLink from soliciting customers that switched to the buyer of the divestiture assets, CenturyLink failed to comply, initiating contact on over 70 occasions over more than a year with former Level 3 customers who elected to switch to the divestiture buyer in the Boise City-Nampa, Idaho MSA (Boise MSA).  CenturyLink does not deny the United States’ allegations and has agreed to the Amended Final Judgment.

“When a defendant violates the terms of a settlement decree, it must be held accountable to its obligations to the department and the American consumer,” said Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s motion to amend the Final Judgment ensures that consumers get the benefit of competition otherwise lost by CenturyLink’s acquisition of Level 3 Communications.  I also commend CenturyLink for its cooperation in resolving the department’s concerns.”

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today filed an unopposed motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to amend the current Final Judgment, entered on March 6, 2018, in order to resolve the department’s concerns.  As part of the settlement, CenturyLink has agreed to:

  • extend the non-solicitation period by two years for the Boise MSA;
  • the appointment of an independent monitoring trustee; and
  • pay the United States to defray the costs of the department’s investigation of CenturyLink’s violations of the court order.

These provisions will allow the divestiture buyer to have the benefit of the original court order which was designed to enable the divestiture buyer to replace competition lost as a result of CenturyLink’s acquisition of Level 3, ensure that CenturyLink follows the court order going forward, and recoup taxpayer funds.  CenturyLink also agreed to the addition mandated by AAG Delrahim of the four new standard provisions that the department has required in all recent antitrust settlements that make the Antitrust Division’s consent decrees easier to enforce.

CenturyLink, one of the largest wireline telecommunications providers in the United States, is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in portions of 37 states and is also a global communications, hosting, cloud, and IT services company.  The company provides broadband, voice, video, data, and managed services over a robust 450,000 route-mile global network, connecting approximately 170,000 fiber-based on-net enterprise buildings.  In 2019, CenturyLink had revenues of approximately $22.4 billion. 

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08/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT
The Justice Department today announced the successful disruption of a multimillion dollar fuel shipment by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization that was bound for Venezuela.

 

 

EXIM Board Votes to Notify Congress of Two Potential Transactions Totaling $450 Million Supporting Approximately $1 Billion of Existing and Future U.S. Exports and an Estimated 1,600 American Jobs

EXIM COVID-19 Economic Recovery Measures Could Support Jobs in Alabama, California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 11, 2020



WASHINGTON – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Board of Directors on Tuesday, August 11 unanimously voted to notify the U.S. Congress, pursuant to the law, of its consideration of two potential transactions that would utilize EXIM COVID-19 economic recovery measures. The potential transactions totaling $450 million could support approximately $1 billion in existing and future export sales from the United States Steel Corporation (U. S. Steel), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and an estimated 1,600 American jobs as calculated by EXIM at U. S. Steel and its suppliers in 17 states throughout the country and the District of Columbia.

In the first transaction, EXIM’s Board of Directors unanimously voted to forward for Congressional notification a 95 percent guarantee of a $250 million working capital loan facility under EXIM’s Working Capital Guarantee Program from PNC Bank, N.A., in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to U. S. Steel. EXIM’s guarantee of the 11-month loan facility would allow U. S. Steel to monetize a portion of the value of three of its existing contracts to supply iron-ore pellets to buyers in North America and Asia. EXIM’s guarantee is needed to enable the lender to accept the risks of the foreign contracts and U. S. Steel to fulfill the supply contracts. The potential transaction is estimated by EXIM to support an estimated 900 U.S. jobs in Minnesota and other states.

In the second transaction, EXIM’s Board unanimously voted to forward for Congressional notification a 95 percent guarantee of a $200 million supply chain finance facility from LSQ Funding Group, L.C., in Orlando, Florida, and Huntington National Bank, N.A. (HNB), in Columbus, Ohio, to U.S. Steel under EXIM’s Supply Chain Finance Guarantee Program. EXIM’s guarantee of the 12-month facility would support the purchase of accounts receivable due from U.S. Steel to 50 to 60 of its U.S. suppliers in approximately 16 states and the District of Columbia. LSQ Funding Group would enter into receivables purchase agreements with U.S. Steel suppliers under LSQ’s existing supply chain finance program, and HNB would further purchase the receivables from LSQ. EXIM would guarantee payment of the receivables, thereby extending its support to U.S. Steel and its network of suppliers across the United States.

Suppliers potentially benefiting from the Supply Chain Finance Guarantee Program transaction are located in Alabama, California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The potential transaction is estimated by EXIM to support 700 U.S. jobs.

In addition to the Congressional comment period, the transactions are subject to mutually satisfactory negotiation of terms and conditions among U. S. Steel and the lending banks, as well as final approval by the EXIM Board of Directors and U. S. Steel Board of Directors.

“With today’s unanimous Board action, we are notifying Congress of EXIM’s consideration of these potential transactions. Now, more than ever, our U.S. companies need to be competing in the global marketplace. We at EXIM were swift to focus on COVID-19 economic recovery measures, and these transactions, when approved final, will support 1,600 American jobs at a major U.S. employer, the United States Steel Corporation, and their suppliers in states across the country,” said EXIM President and Chairman Kimberly Reed.

“This is a very inventive approach, and I applaud EXIM for helping get a major American employer and exporter through the challenges posed by COVID-19,” said U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, an ex officio Member of EXIM’s Board of Directors, who also participated in the virtual Board of Directors meeting. “I believe that U. S. Steel is on its way to becoming the low-cost producer of integrated steel mills in the U.S. This is a win-win situation.”

“The two transactions considered today will support jobs in the industrial heartland of America, and it is important, relevant, and timely for EXIM to engage in supporting these exports and associated jobs,” said EXIM Board Member Judith D. Pryor. “Maintaining a robust domestic manufacturing base is a win-win when it comes to the economy and our national security, and I’m pleased to notify Congress of these transactions.”

“The transactions that EXIM notified Congress of today will support approximately 1,600 jobs across over 50 companies in the supply chain during a time when the industry’s finances are struggling due in part to COVID-19,” said EXIM Board Member Spencer T. Bachus, III. “EXIM COVID-19 relief measures continue to support the exporting community during this time of crisis.”

In March 2020, as part of EXIM’s COVID-19 response initiatives, EXIM temporarily approved an increased guarantee coverage option to 95 percent under its Working Capital Guarantee Program and Supply Chain Financing Guarantee Program, an increase from the agency’s standard 90 percent guarantee. The guarantees utilizing the increased coverage option are not to exceed one year effective from the date of the financing.

ABOUT EXIM:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency’s authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.





Offices of the United States Attorneys

The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020

 

 

 

FEDERAL COURT TERMINATES PARAMOUNT CONSENT DECREES

WASHINGTON – A federal court in the Southern District of New York today terminated the Paramount Consent Decrees, which for over seventy years have regulated how certain movie studios distribute films to movie theatres. The review and termination of these Decrees were part of the Department of Justice’s review of legacy antitrust judgments that dated back to the 1890’s and has resulted in the termination of nearly 800 perpetual decrees.   

“We appreciate the Court’s thoughtful opinion and ruling today granting our motion to terminate these outdated Decrees,” said Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “As the Court points out, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and It’s a Wonderful Life were the blockbusters when these Decrees were litigated; the movie industry and how Americans enjoy their movies have changed leaps and bounds in these intervening years.  Without these restraints on the market, American ingenuity is again free to experiment with different business models that can benefit consumers.” 

In summary, the Court concluded that the government had offered a persuasive explanation for why termination of the Paramount Decrees serves the public interest in free and unfettered competition.  The conspiracy and practices that existed decades ago no longer exist.  New technology has created many different movie platforms that did not exist when the Decrees were entered into, including cable and broadcast television, DVDs, and streaming and download services. 

The litigation underlying the Decrees dates back to 1938. After several years of litigation, including a Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Paramount, 334 U.S. 131 (1948), the Antitrust Division and the defendants entered into a series of consent decrees, collectively called the Paramount Decrees.  These Decrees required the movie studios to separate their distribution operations from their exhibition businesses.  They also banned various motion picture distribution practices, including block booking (bundling multiple films into one theatre license), circuit dealing (entering into one license that covered all theatres in a theatre circuit), resale price maintenance (setting minimum prices on movie tickets), and granting overbroad clearances (exclusive film licenses for specific geographic areas). 

The Court terminated the Decrees, effective immediately, but allowed for a two-year sunset period on the Decrees’ provisions banning block booking and circuit dealing to.  This sunset provision was at the request of the Antitrust Division to allow the theatre and motion picture industry to have an orderly transition to the new licensing changes.

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ATR

20-761

08/06/2020 12:00 AM EDT
The owner of a biofuel company was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by a three-year term of supervised release and ordered to pay $10,207,000 in restitution for defrauding multiple federal agencies and customers.
08/06/2020 12:00 AM EDT


Imperial Pacific International and MCC International Saipan Executives Indicted on Federal Charges
08/05/2020 12:00 AM EDT


Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Alvaro Puig
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

The FTC sued the makers of Suboxone®, a prescription drug to treat opioid addiction, alleging they were preventing patients from choosing lower priced generic versions of the drug. The companies agreed to pay $60 million to consumers to settle the FTC charges. That means if you got a prescription for Suboxone® film in the United States between March 1, 2013 and February 28, 2019, you may be eligible for a payment.

Read more >

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The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020

 

 

 

STATEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANTITRUST DIVISION ON THE CLOSING OF ITS INVESTIGATION OF LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP AND REFINITIV

WASHINGTON – Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice issued the following statement today in connection with the closing of the division’s investigation into the proposed acquisition of Refinitiv by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG):

“After an extensive review of the proposed transaction, the Antitrust Division determined that the combination of LSEG and Refinitiv is unlikely to result in harm to competition or American consumers.”

LSEG, headquartered in London, operates the London Stock Exchange, the Italian stock exchange, Borsa Italiana, and a number of other trading platforms for trading of stocks, other equity-like exchange traded products, bonds and derivatives.  LSEG offers indexes such as the FTSE 100 and Russell 2000, analytical tools, and data solutions through its FTSE Russell business.

Refinitiv, headquartered in New York City, is one of the main providers of financial markets data and infrastructure.  Refinitiv offers consolidated real-time and non-real time data feeds of stocks and other discrete content, and desktop solutions and terminals for financial industry professionals.  It also supplies foreign exchange benchmarks and controls several electronic trading venues in various asset classes.

In August 2019, LSEG and Refinitiv announced that LSEG had reached an agreement to acquire Refinitiv in a transaction valued at approximately $27 billion.  Following that announcement, the Antitrust Division conducted a comprehensive eight-month investigation, during which it reviewed documents, analyzed data, and interviewed industry participants.

In conducting its analysis, the division considered the vertical relationships between LSEG and Refinitiv where one firm serves as a supplier to the other of needed inputs, as well as the horizontal aspects of the transaction where LSEG and Refinitiv offer competing products.  In analyzing these different aspects to the transaction, the division used both the recently released Vertical Merger Guidelines, released by the division and the Federal Trade Commission, and the Horizontal Merger Guidelines, issued by the Antitrust division and the Federal Trade Commission..

When analyzing the vertical aspects of the transaction, the division considered how the proposed transaction could affect the ability and incentives of LSEG and Refinitiv to change the licensing terms for proprietary data feeds used by their rivals to supply products that compete against similar products from LSEG and Refinitiv.  Examples of such data feeds include pricing data for financial instruments, currency benchmark rates, and securities identifiers.

The division’s analysis considered how changes in the licensing of LSEG’s and Refinitiv’s proprietary data feeds could affect competition for financial indexes and financial data products, and found that the proposed transaction is unlikely to significantly lessen competition for those products where rivals rely on LSEG and Refinitiv for inputs.  In many instances, for example, the rivals who purchase products and services from LSEG or Refinitiv also sell products and services back to LSEG and Refinitiv.  The division’s analysis took into account the competitive significance in the United States of LSEG’s and Refinitiv’s products compared to their rivals’ products, and the bargaining relationships these rivals have with LSEG and Refinitiv.  The division’s analysis also considered the possible competitive effects of the proposed transaction on customers in the United States of LSEG, Refinitiv, and their rivals. Because LSEG and Refinitiv’s rivals would maintain significant bargaining leverage that would make post-transaction price increases unlikely, and because any potential increase in the fees of the combined firm would not likely be passed on to customers, the division concluded the vertical aspects of the transaction would not cause a significant lessening of competition.

With respect to the horizontal aspects of the transaction, the division found that in areas where LSEG and Refinitiv offer similar products, such as financial indexes, that the combination of the companies’ products are unlikely to significantly lessen competition.  This analysis was based on a review of LSEG’s and Refinitiv’s products that are similar to each other, an analysis of whether these products actually compete against each other in the United States, and the small changes the transaction would likely cause in post-transaction market concentration for these products based on the companies’ market shares in the United States.

The division considered several theories of harm in its review of the proposed transaction, and concluded that these theories were not supported by the available evidence.  For these and other reasons, the division determined that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially harm consumers in the United States and therefore closed its investigation.

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ATR

20-737




Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Jonathan Cohen
Senior Attorney, Division of Enforcement, FTC

You might remember that, back in 2016, the FTC sued and then settled with Volkswagen and Porsche over their multi-million dollar “clean diesel” marketing campaigns. The problem? The VWs, Audis, and Porsches they said were “clean” actually had an illegal device to let the cars pass emissions tests. Not so clean, after all. The settlement that the FTC attorneys and I negotiated – along with the private bar – got Volkswagen and Porsche to agree to pay up to $10 billion to replace or repair the more than 550,000 cars affected. That meant the full retail price of those cars – plus repaying people for things including their time, and taxes and registration fees.

Read more >


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The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020
 

SIXTH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY CHARGED IN ONGOING CRIMINAL ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION

Fifth Company to Admit It Fixed Prices of Generic Drugs

WASHINGTON – Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (Taro U.S.A.) has been charged for conspiring to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids for generic drugs, the Department of Justice announced today. 

A two-count felony charge was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, charging Taro U.S.A. with participating in two criminal antitrust conspiracies, each with a competing manufacturer of generic drugs and various executives.     

The Antitrust Division also announced a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) resolving the charges against Taro U.S.A., under which the company agreed to pay a $205,653,218 criminal penalty and admitted that its sales affected by the charged conspiracies was in excess of $500 million.  Under the DPA, Taro U.S.A. has agreed to cooperate fully with the Antitrust Division’s ongoing criminal investigation.  As part of the agreement, the parties will file a joint motion, which is subject to approval by the Court, to defer for the term of the DPA any prosecution and trial of the charges filed against the defendant.

“Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A.’s unlawful conspiracies to raise the prices of critical drugs robbed consumers at pharmacy counters across America,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s resolution marks another important step toward ensuring that competitively priced generic drugs are available to the millions of American consumers who rely on them.” 

“During these difficult times, it is more important than ever that our pharmaceutical companies conduct business with the well-being of the consumer in mind,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Steven Stuller, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  “When generic drug companies conspire to artificially increase prices, they do so to the detriment of many who depend on these medications to maintain good health.  Along with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the USPS Office of Inspector General will remain committed to investigating those who would engage in this type of harmful conduct.”

“Today’s announcement demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working with our partners to combat price-fixing and antitrust violations that ultimately harm the American public,” said Timothy R. Slater, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  “We will continue to pursue these investigations to call attention to this criminal activity in order to ultimately ensure a competitive market and access to generic drugs.”  

“The charges filed today in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are indicative of my Office’s ongoing efforts to investigate and charge companies and executives who fix the prices of generic pharmaceuticals,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “We and our partners at the Antitrust Division and other federal law enforcement agencies remain heavily focused on price-fixing and illegal market allocation in generic drugs. These charges and the related deferred prosecution agreement, subject to approval by the court, are yet another important accomplishment in that area.”

In the deferred prosecution agreement, Taro U.S.A. admitted to participating in two charged conspiracies between 2013 and 2015.  Specifically, Count One charges Taro U.S.A. for its role in a conspiracy with Sandoz Inc., former Taro U.S.A. Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ara Aprahamian, and other individuals, from at least as early as March 2013 and continuing until at least December 2015.  Count Two charges Taro U.S.A. for its role in a second conspiracy with a generic drug company based in Pennsylvania and other individuals, from at least as early as May 2013 and continuing until at least December 2015.  According to the charge and DPA, Taro U.S.A. and its co-conspirators agreed to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids for numerous generic drugs, including medications used to prevent and control seizures and treat bipolar disorder, pain and arthritis, and various skin conditions. 

This is the tenth case to be filed in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation into the generic pharmaceutical industry.  To date, five of the six companies charged—including Taro U.S.A.’s co-conspirator Sandoz Inc.—have admitted to their roles in antitrust conspiracies and resolved through DPAs under which they’ve collectively agreed to pay over $426 million in criminal penalties.  In addition, four executives have been charged for their roles in fixing prices of generic drugs.  Former Taro U.S.A. executive Ara Aprahamian was indicted in February 2020 and is awaiting trial.  The other three executives have pleaded guilty, including a former senior executive at Sandoz Inc.

The charged offense carries a statutory maximum penalty of a $100 million fine per count for corporations, and the maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims if either amount is greater than $100 million. 

This case is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, market allocation, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the generic pharmaceutical industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division with the assistance of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the FBI’s Washington and Philadelphia Field Offices, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  Anyone with information on price fixing, market allocation, bid rigging, or other anticompetitive conduct related to the pharmaceutical industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

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ATR

20-689



Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Colleen Tressler
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Just about a year ago, we told you about a case the FTC brought against a student loan debt relief firm. The FTC alleged that the operators of Mission Hills Federal, Federal Direct Group, National Secure Processing, and The Student Loan Group bilked borrowers out of millions of dollars. Today, we have some great news to share: a federal court in California has ruled in our favor.

Read more >

U.S. Department of Justice

07/23/2020 12:00 AM EDT
07/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A Washington, D.C. man was sentenced today to one year in prison for aiding and abetting the illegal straw purchase of five firearms.
07/14/2020 12:00 AM EDT
BOSTON – A Weston man has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a scheme to defraud private high schools and international students of millions of dollars in tuition and other fees.
Universal Health Services, Inc. and related entities to pay $122 million to settle False Claims Act allegations relating to medically unnecessary inpatient behavioral health services and illegal kickbacks
07/10/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Universal Health Services, Inc., UHS of Delaware, Inc.(together, UHS), and Turning Point Care Center, LLC (Turning Point), a UHS facility located in Moultrie, Georgia, have agreed to pay a combined total of $122 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act for billing for medically unnecessary inpatient behavioral health services, failing to provide adequate and appropriate services, and paying illegal inducements to federal healthcare beneficiaries, the Department of Justice announced today. UHS owns and provides management and administrative services to nearly 200 acute care inpatient psychiatric hospitals and residential psychiatric and behavioral treatment facilities nationwide. UHS is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.




IRS Newswire July 9, 2020

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Issue Number:    IR-2020-145

Inside This Issue


IRS.gov has answers about filing, paying and July 15 due date

WASHINGTON — As the July due date for filing a tax return draws closer, the Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers about the many resources available on IRS.gov. Whether on home computers or mobile devices, the number of taxpayers visiting IRS.gov continues to grow year after year.

Easy-to-use tools, available 24 hours a day on the IRS website, have been used more than 1.2 billion times this year.

IRS.gov is home to IRS Free File, "Where's My Refund?", the Tax Withholding Estimator and a host of other convenient applications. Additional help is available in Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax, available on IRS.gov. Publication 17 is also available as an eBook.

Taxpayers who have yet to file their tax returns should file electronically now and choose direct deposit if they’re getting a refund. Taxpayers who owe for tax year 2019 can pay anytime up to the July 15 due date.

File electronically for free

Taxpayers whose income was $69,000 or less last year are eligible to use the IRS Free File software to do their taxes. Also, regardless of income, any taxpayer who is comfortable preparing their own taxes can use Free File Fillable Forms. Taxpayers can use these electronic versions of IRS tax forms to complete their taxes and file them online. Free File options are available at IRS.gov/freefile.

Get answers to tax questions

Taxpayers can find answers to many of their questions using the Interactive Tax Assistant. It’s a tax law resource that uses a series of questions and responses to help. IRS.gov also has answers to Frequently Asked Questions on a variety of topics. The IRS website also has tax information in: Spanish (Español); Chinese (中文); Korean (한국어); Russian (Pусский); Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt); and Haitian Creole (Kreyòl ayisyen).

"Where's My Refund?"

Taxpayers can easily find the most up-to-date information about their tax refund using the "Where's My Refund?" tool on IRS.gov and on the IRS mobile app, IRS2Go. Within 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of an electronically filed return, taxpayers can start checking on the status of their refund.

Schedule a payment

Taxpayers can file now and schedule their federal tax payments up to the July 15 due date. They can pay online, by phone or with their mobile device and the IRS2Go app. When paying federal taxes electronically, taxpayers should remember:

  • Electronic payment options are the best way to make a tax payment.
  • They can pay when they e-file by using tax software online.
  • If using a tax preparer, taxpayers should ask the preparer to make the tax payment through an electronic funds withdrawal from a bank account.
  • IRS Direct Pay allows taxpayers to pay online directly from a checking or savings account for free.
  • Taxpayers can choose to pay with a credit card, debit card or digital wallet option through a payment processor. No fees go to the IRS.
  • The IRS2Go app provides mobile-friendly payment options, including Direct Pay and payment processors on mobile devices.
  • Taxpayers may also enroll in the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System and pay online or by phone.
  • They can pay with cash at a retail partner. New locations available.
  • Taxpayers can go to IRS.gov/account to securely access information about their federal tax account. They can view the amount they owe, access their tax records online, review their payment history and view key information for the most recent tax return as originally filed.

Not required to file a tax return? Non-Filers tool available to register for Economic Impact Payments

People who are not normally required to file a tax return and don’t plan to do so can use the Non-Filers tool to get an Economic Impact Payment. The only way they can get this payment is to register with the IRS by using this free tool. Available in both English and Spanish, the tool was developed jointly by the IRS and the Free File Alliance. The registration deadline is Oct. 15, 2020.

More information

IRS.gov/COVIDtaxdeadlines
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07/03/2020 11:57 AM EDT
CBP officers discovered the counterfeit productshidden in between generic versions of the sleepingdressesin a clear smuggling attempt.LOS ANGELES— U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and import specialists assigned to the Los Angeles/...


06/30/2020 12:00 AM EDT

The chief executive officer of Indivior PLC, Shaun Thaxter, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia to a one-count information charging him with causing the introduction into interstate commerce of the opioid drug Suboxone Film, which was misbranded in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. 



Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

FTC and DOJ Issue Antitrust Guidelines for Evaluating Vertical Mergers

New Vertical Merger Guidelines provide transparency on analytical techniques, practices, and enforcement policies

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “Department”) issued today new Vertical Merger Guidelines that outline how the federal antitrust agencies evaluate the likely competitive impact of vertical mergers and whether those mergers comply with U.S. antitrust law. These new Vertical Merger Guidelines mark the first time the Department and the FTC have issued joint guidelines on vertical mergers, and represent the first major revision to guidance on vertical mergers since the Department’s 1984 Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines, which the Department withdrew in January of this year.

“These new Vertical Merger Guidelines are an important step forward in maintaining vigorous antitrust enforcement, and reaffirm our commitment to challenge vertical mergers that are anticompetitive and would harm American consumers,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “The new Guidelines reflect our current enforcement approach and, through increased transparency, will help businesses and practitioners understand how we evaluate vertical transactions. The new Guidelines also reflect our strong collaboration with the Department of Justice, and the substantial input that we received from the public.”

“These new Vertical Merger Guidelines provide transparency in the important area of vertical merger analysis,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim. “They explain our investigative practices as we apply them today and have applied them in recent years.  The Guidelines will give greater predictability and clarity to the business community, the bar, and enforcers. I am grateful for the commitment, thoroughness, and dedication with which staff from both agencies worked on this project. This has been a successful process because of our robust public engagement and our excellent collaborative relationship with the FTC.”

A primary goal of the new Vertical Merger Guidelines is to help the agencies identify and challenge competitively harmful vertical mergers. To accomplish this, the Guidelines detail the techniques and main types of evidence that the agencies typically use to predict whether vertical mergers may substantially lessen competition. The Guidelines will help businesses, antitrust practitioners, and other interested persons by increasing transparency into the agencies’ principal analytical techniques, practices, and enforcement policies for evaluating vertical transactions.

The Commission vote to issue the Vertical Merger Guidelines was 3-2, with Commissioner Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter voting no. Chairman Simons and Commissioners Noah Joshua Phillips and Christine S. Wilson issued a statement. Commissioners Chopra and Slaughter issued dissenting statements.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint.

Related Actions

More news from the FTC >>





U.S. Department of Justice

The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020
   

 

FORMER BUMBLE BEE CEO SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FIXING PRICES OF CANNED TUNA

WASHINGTON – Christopher Lischewski, former chief executive officer and president of Bumble Bee Foods LLC, was sentenced to serve 40 months in jail and pay a $100,000 criminal fine for his leadership role in a three-year antitrust conspiracy to fix prices of canned tuna, the Department of Justice announced.

Lischewski was charged on May 16, 2018, in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in San Francisco.  After a four-week trial in late 2019, he was convicted on the single count of participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of canned tuna.  In imposing Lischewski’s 40-month prison sentence, the court found that Lischewski was a leader or organizer of the conspiracy and that it affected over $600 million dollars of canned tuna sales. 

“The sentence imposed today will serve as a significant deterrent in the C-suite and the boardroom,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Executives who cheat American consumers out of the benefits of competition will be brought to justice, particularly when their antitrust crimes affect the most basic necessity, food.  Today’s sentence reflects the serious harm that resulted from the multi-year conspiracy to fix prices of canned tuna.”

“This sentence is the result of our commitment to holding corporations and senior leadership accountable for their actions, whether they operate in the food supply industry or elsewhere,” said FBI San Francisco Division Special Agent in Charge, John F. Bennett.  “This brings us closer to our goal; allowing our citizens to be able to purchase food in an unbiased market within an efficient and fair economy, free of corporate greed.”

Bumble Bee pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $25 million criminal fine.  In September, StarKist Co. was sentenced to pay a statutory maximum $100 million criminal fine.  In addition to Bumble Bee and StarKist, four executives, including Lischewski, were charged in the investigation.  The other three executives pleaded guilty and testified in Lischewski’s trial.

The sentence announced today is a result of the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the packaged-seafood industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office.  Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging, or other anticompetitive conduct related to the packaged-seafood industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html, or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

###



Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner


FTC Reaches Settlement with Kohl’s over Allegations it Failed to Provide Victims with Information Related to Identity Theft

Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc. has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $220,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the Wisconsin-based retailer violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by refusing to provide complete records of transactions to consumers whose personal information was used by identity thieves.

In a complaint filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, the Commission alleges that Kohl’s refused to provide information identifying the thieves to identity theft victims, despite the fact that the FCRA guarantees victims access to this information. The FTC also alleges that the company failed to provide the information within 30 days, as required by the FCRA. The information sought by identity theft victims included records of sales made by the identity thieves using stolen personal information, along with the perpetrator’s name and contact information.

“If someone stole your identity, it’s your right to get the records related to the theft – and that’s a right the FTC takes seriously,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “This case is a warning to other companies: We will hold you responsible if you fail to give identity theft victims the required business records.”

This is the first case the FTC has brought using its authority under Section 609(e) of the FCRA, which Congress added to the statute to require companies to provide victims of identity theft with application and business transaction records about fraudulent transactions made in their names within 30 days.

In addition to the civil penalty, Kohl’s is required to provide identity theft victims, who provide valid verification of their identity and the identity theft, with access to business transaction records related to the theft within 30 days. The company also must post a notice on its website informing identity theft victims about how to obtain records related to identify theft, and certify that it has reached out to victims who were unlawfully denied access to such records in the past.

The Commission voted 5-0 to authorize the complaint and stipulated final order to be filed. The Department of Justice, on behalf of the FTC, filed the complaint and stipulated final order in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

NOTE: The Commission files 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 final orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Contact Information

More news from the FTC >>

U.S. Department of Justice

06/11/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) public affairs officer pleaded guilty today to defrauding at least a dozen companies of over $4.4 million by posing falsely as a covert officer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

06/10/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Bay Area Hospitality And Automotive Executive Charged With Fraud
06/05/2020 12:00 AM EDT
06/05/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Four Florida men were charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday for their alleged participation in a compound pharmacy kickback scheme.




  REGULATION NOTICE
 
05/22/2020, 12:28 PM

REGULATION UPDATE INFORMATION MEMO

Additional Information for Floor Brokers Following Resumption of Trading Operations on the Trading Floor on May 26, 2020




Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner


FTC Halts Deceptive Payday Lender That Took Millions From Consumers’ Accounts Without Authorization

Defendants drew repeated interest-only charges, leaving consumers to pay more than promised

The Federal Trade Commission has charged a payday lending enterprise with deceptively overcharging consumers millions of dollars and withdrawing money repeatedly from consumers’ bank accounts without their permission. A federal court has entered a temporary restraining order halting the operation and freezing the defendants’ assets, at the FTC’s request.

According to the FTC, the 11 defendants, through Internet websites and telemarketing, and operating under the names Harvest Moon Financial, Gentle Breeze Online, and Green Stream Lending, used deceptive marketing tactics to convince consumers that their loans would be repaid in a fixed number of payments. In fact, in many instances, the FTC alleges, consumers found that long after the promised number of payments had been made, the defendants had applied their funds to finance charges only and were continuing to make regular finance-charge only withdrawals from their checking accounts.

In addition, the FTC charges that the defendants failed to make required loan disclosures, made recurring withdrawals from consumers’ bank accounts without proper authorization, and illegally used remotely created checks.

“Harvest Moon bled consumers dry, by promising a single payment payday loan, but then automatically debiting consumers’ bank accounts for finance charges every two weeks, in perpetuity,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The FTC charges the defendants with violating the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E. The defendants named in the case are: Lead Express, Inc.; Camel Coins, Inc.; Sea Mirror, Inc,; Naito Corp.; Kotobuki Marketing, Inc.; Ebisu Marketing, Inc.; Hotei Marketing, Inc.; Daikoku Marketing, Inc.; La Posta Tribal Lending Enterprise; Takehisa Naito; and Keishi Ikeda.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada entered the temporary restraining order on May 19, 2020.

The FTC has information for consumers about payday loans, including alternative options and information for military consumers.

NOTE: The Commission files 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. The case will be decided by the court.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Contact Information

CONTACT FOR CONSUMERS:
Consumer Response Center
877-382-4357

Related Cases


05/18/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the unsealing of a six-count federal indictment against Seyed Sajjad Shahidian, 33, Vahid Vali, 33, and PAYMENT24 for conducting financial transactions in violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran. The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit offenses against and to defraud the United States, wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. Shahidian, who was arrested and extradited from the United Kingdom, made his initial appearance earlier today before Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Vali remains at large.





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05/18/2020, 08:56

NYSE OPTIONS QUOTE RELIEF

NYSE American Options and NYSE Arca Options has granted double width quote relief for all option symbols for May 8, 2020.



United States Drug Enforcement Administration
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Release

Omnicare, Inc., agrees to pay more than $15 million to resolve allegations it improperly dispensed narcotics at long-term care facilities

WASHINGTON – Omnicare, Inc., a subsidiary of CVS Health and a leading provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities, has agreed to pay the United States a $15.3 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it violated federal law by allowing opioids and other controlled substances to be dispensed without a valid prescription, DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon announced today.

Omnicare operates “closed door” pharmacies, which are pharmacies that are not open to the public, that deliver controlled substances to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Omnicare makes daily deliveries of prescription medications to residents of long-term care facilities; but it also pre-positions limited stockpiles of controlled substances at long-term care facilities in “emergency kits,” which are to be dispensed to patients on an emergency basis. These emergency kits, which often include opioids and other controlled substances that are commonly abused and diverted, remain part of Omnicare’s inventory and must be tightly controlled and tracked. The controlled substances may be dispensed only pursuant to a valid prescription.

“Omnicare failed in its responsibility to ensure proper controls of medications used to treat some of the most vulnerable among us,” said Acting Administrator Dhillon. “DEA is committed to keeping our communities safe by holding companies like Omnicare accountable for such failures, while ensuring continuity of care and necessary access to emergency prescription drug supplies.”

The United States alleged that Omnicare violated the federal Controlled Substances Act in its handling of emergency prescriptions, its controls over the emergency kits, and its processing of written prescriptions that had missing elements. The federal investigation found that Omnicare failed to control emergency kits by improperly permitting long-term care facilities to remove opioids and other controlled substances from emergency kits days before doctors provided a valid prescription. The investigation also revealed that Omnicare had repeated failures in its documentation and reporting of oral emergency prescriptions of Schedule II controlled substances.

As part of the settlement agreement announced today, Omnicare agreed to pay the $15.3 million civil penalty and entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration that will require Omnicare to increase its auditing and monitoring of emergency kits placed at long-term care facilities.

This matter was investigated by the DEA’s Field Divisions in Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, in conjunction with five U.S. Attorney’s Offices: the Central District of California, the Eastern District of California, the District of Colorado, the District of Oregon, and the District of Utah. The settlement agreement, which was finalized on May 6, resolves Omnicare’s civil liability for the alleged Controlled Substances Act violations in those five districts.

The claims settled by this civil agreement are allegations. In entering into this settlement agreement, Omnicare did not admit to any liability.

# # #


05/11/2020 12:00 AM EDT



Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Colleen Tressler
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Every day we are reading about researchers studying potential ways to prevent, treat or cure COVID-19. However, at this time there certainly are no products you can buy online, or services you can get at a neighborhood clinic, that are proven to work. But that doesn’t stop some sellers from pitching products that claim to protect or heal you.

Read more >

F D I C Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Press Release

May 4, 2020

FDIC Issues List of Banks Examined for
CRA Compliance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today issued its list of state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The list covers evaluation ratings that the FDIC assigned to institutions in February 2020.

The CRA is a 1977 law intended to encourage insured banks and thrifts to meet local credit needs, including those of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations. As part of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), Congress mandated the public disclosure of an evaluation and rating for each bank or thrift that undergoes a CRA examination on or after July 1, 1990.

You may obtain a consolidated list of all state nonmember banks whose evaluations have been made publicly available since July 1, 1990, including the rating for each bank.

A copy of an individual bank's CRA evaluation is available directly from the bank, which is required by law to make the material available upon request, or from the FDIC's Public Information Center.

Attachments:
February 2020 List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance
Monthly List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance

# # #


U.S. Department of Justice

The United States Department of Justice

 

05/07/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Apotex Corp., a generic pharmaceutical company headquartered in Florida, was charged with fixing the price of the generic drug pravastatin, the Department of Justice announced today.  According to the one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Apotex and other generic drug companies agreed to increase and maintain the price of pravastatin, a commonly prescribed cholesterol medication that lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke.  The conspiracy began in May 2013 and continued through December 2015.

 

05/04/2020 12:00 AM EDT
The former Director of Procurement for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the president and chief executive officer of a government contracting firm pleaded guilty today to conspiring to bribe a public official.

05/04/2020 12:00 AM EDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020

 

 

 

LEADING CANCER TREATMENT CENTER ADMITS TO ANTITRUST CRIME AND AGREES TO PAY $100 MILLION CRIMINAL PENALTY

WASHINGTON – Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS), an oncology group headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, was charged with conspiring to allocate medical and radiation oncology treatments for cancer patients in Southwest Florida, the Department of Justice announced.  This charge is the first in the department’s ongoing investigation into market allocation in the oncology industry.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Florida, FCS participated in a criminal antitrust conspiracy with a competing oncology group in Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties (Southwest Florida).  FCS and its co-conspirators agreed not to compete to provide chemotherapy and radiation treatments to cancer patients in Southwest Florida.  Beginning as early as 1999 and continuing until at least 2016, FCS entered into an illegal agreement that allocated chemotherapy treatments to FCS and radiation treatments to a competing oncology group.  This conspiracy allowed FCS to operate with minimal competition in Southwest Florida and limited valuable integrated care options and choices for cancer patients.  

The Antitrust Division also announced a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) resolving the charge against FCS, under which the company admitted to conspiring to allocate chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer patients.  FCS has agreed to pay a $100 million criminal penalty —the statutory maximum— and to cooperate fully with the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation.  FCS has also agreed to maintain an effective compliance program designed to prevent and detect criminal antitrust violations.

“Today’s resolution, with one of the largest independent oncology groups in the United States, is a significant step toward ensuring that cancer patients in Southwest Florida are afforded the benefits of competition for life-saving treatments,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “For almost two decades, FCS and its co-conspirators agreed to cheat by limiting treatment options available to cancer patients in order to line their pockets.  The Antitrust Division is continuing its investigation to ensure that all responsible participants are held accountable to the maximum extent possible.”

“The FBI has no tolerance for medical providers who stand to profit by criminally exploiting cancer patients,” said Michael McPherson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office.  “We will not turn a blind eye while executives pad their pockets to the detriment of vulnerable Americans.  We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that the public has access to a competitive marketplace for healthcare.”

Additionally, the agreement includes a non-compete waiver aimed at increasing competition in the treatment of cancer patients in Southwest Florida.  Under the agreement’s terms, FCS has agreed not to enforce any non-compete provisions with its current or former oncologists or other employees who, during the term of the DPA, open or join an oncology practice in Southwest Florida.

This charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct in the oncology industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division and the FBI’s Tampa Field Office – Fort Meyers RA. 

The Florida Office of the Attorney General separately announced today that, in connection with its own independent investigation, FCS agreed to settle civil claims that it violated Florida antitrust laws.

Anyone with information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging, or other anticompetitive conduct in the health care or any other industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.  If you believe that you were a victim of this crime, please visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/victims-rights.

NOTE: To view the FCS Deferred Prosecution Agreement, click here; to view the FCS Information, click here; to view the FCS Deferred Prosecution Agreement Q&A, click here.

 

###



Attorney Agrees to Plead Guilty to a String of Crimes, Including Paying Bribes to Two Federal Law Enforcement Officials
04/28/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A Calabasas man has agreed to plead guilty to five federal offenses – one related to a credit card “bust-out” scheme, and the others related to more than $250,000 in bribes he paid to two federal agents for assistance that included sensitive law enforcement information.





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04/13/2020, 08:41

NYSE OPTIONS QUOTE RELIEF

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Federal Trade Commission: Protecting America's Consumers Banner

Federal Trade Commission Closes Investigation of Johnson & Johnson’s Proposed Acquisition of TachoSil from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company

The Federal Trade Commission has closed its investigation into Johnson & Johnson’s proposed acquisition of the fibrin sealant surgical patch TachoSil from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.

“Staff of the Bureau of Competition and Bureau of Economics thoroughly investigated Johnson & Johnson’s proposed acquisition of Takeda’s surgical patch, TachoSil,” said FTC Chairman Joseph Simons. “The investigation focused on the potential loss of competition between TachoSil and Johnson & Johnson’s Evarrest—the only two fibrin sealant patches approved in the United States to stop bleeding during surgery. As a result of that investigation, staff had significant concerns about the likely anticompetitive effects and had recommended that the Commission block the transaction. Now that the deal has been abandoned, patients and surgeons will continue to benefit from competition between these life-saving devices.”

Throughout the investigation, FTC staff cooperated closely with staff of the European Commission’s DG Competition.

The Commission had previously denied a motion to quash compulsory process filed by the parties. The Commission vote to close the investigation was 5-0.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint.



The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2020

WWW.JUSTICE.GOV/NEWS

 

 

DOJ AGREES TO CIVIL SETTLEMENT WITH ADDITIONAL FIRM INVOLVED IN BID RIGGING AND FRAUD TARGETING DEFENSE DEPARTMENT FUEL SUPPLY CONTRACTS FOR U.S. MILITARY BASES IN SOUTH KOREA

WASHINGTON  South Korea-based company Jier Shin Korea Co. Ltd., and its president, Sang Joo Lee, have agreed to pay $2 million to the United States for civil antitrust and False Claims Act violations for their involvement in a bid-rigging conspiracy that targeted contracts to supply fuel to U.S. military bases in South Korea, the Department of Justice announced today. 

The United States previously reached civil settlements totaling over $205 million relating to the conspiracy with GS Caltex Corporation, Hanjin Transportation Co. Ltd., Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd., SK Energy Co. Ltd., and S-Oil Corporation.  As with the prior civil settlements, this settlement reflects the important role of both Section 4A of the Clayton Act and the False Claims Act to ensure that the United States is compensated when it is the victim of anticompetitive conduct. 

“Today’s settlement represents the final chapter of our efforts to use Section 4A of the Clayton Act to ensure that the companies involved in this conspiracy compensate American taxpayers for their anticompetitive activity,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division.  “Together, these are the largest Section 4A settlements in American history, and we will continue to use this important enforcement tool when taxpayers are harmed by cartels.”

“This is the sixth False Claims Act settlement arising from the bid rigging of contracts to supply fuel to U.S. military bases in South Korea,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Civil Division.  “We will pursue and hold accountable those who seek to defraud the American taxpayers, including those who conspire with others to do so.”

“You will pay the price if you rig bids and especially if you target our military bases while doing so,” said U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers for the Southern District of Ohio.  “Today’s settlement shows that we will not stop until we hold accountable all responsible parties.”

The Department’s Antitrust Division today filed a civil antitrust complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and, at the same time, filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the lawsuit against Jier Shin Korea and Mr. Lee for their anticompetitive conduct targeting the U.S. military in South Korea.  The proposed settlement requires that Jier Shin Korea and Mr. Lee pay $2 million to the United States to resolve the civil antitrust violations.  In addition, Jier Shin Korea and Mr. Lee have agreed to continue to cooperate with the United States’ civil investigations and to abide by an antitrust compliance program.  The amount to be paid by Jier Shin Korea and Mr. Lee reflects the value of their cooperation, limitations on their ability to pay, and cost savings realized by avoiding extended litigation.  The settlement further provides that the United States, if it discovers any material misrepresentations in the financial statements provided by Jier Shin Korea and Mr. Lee regarding their ability to pay, may recover the full amount by which Jier Shin Korea or Mr. Lee understated that ability.

The payment will also resolve civil claims that the United States has under the False Claims Act against Jier Shin Korea and Mr. Lee for making false statements to the government in connection with their agreement not to compete.  The Civil Division has entered into a separate settlement agreement with Jier Shin Korea and Mr. Lee to resolve these claims.

The civil settlement was handled by the Antitrust Division’s Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section, by the Civil Division, and by the Civil Fraud Section of the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Ohio.

The United States’ civil investigation resulted from a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Those provisions allow for private parties to sue on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery.

The proposed civil antitrust settlement, along with the Antitrust Division’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register, as required by the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act.  Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Robert Lepore, Chief, Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 8000, Washington, D.C. 20530.  At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the civil antitrust settlement upon a finding that it serves the public interest.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

###




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04/08/2020, 09:10

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04/07/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A Savannah-area pharmacy and its pharmacist have agreed to settle federal claims that they unlawfully dispensed controlled substances pursuant to prescriptions by a notorious pill-mill doctor.

04/07/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Dear Hospital Executives: As the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, I am the chief federal law enforcement officer in approximately half of Ohio’s counties. My office’s primary responsibility is to enforce the laws of the United States on behalf of the citizens we serve. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, our office is prioritizing the deterrence, investigation, and prosecution of wrongdoing related to the coronavirus – including those engaged in hoarding and/or price-gouging with regard to critical medical supplies. These practices are not only morally repugnant in light of the pandemic we are facing, but also, if left unchecked, can inhibit hospitals, physicians and other health care professionals, governmental agencies, and the public from fully implementing measures designed to save lives and mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.



logo MARKET STATUS
 
 
STATUS: INFORMATIONAL MESSAGE
 
04/03/2020, 08:54

NYSE OPTIONS QUOTE RELIEF

NYSE American Options and NYSE Arca Options has granted double width quote relief for all option symbols for April 3, 2020.


F D I C Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Press Release

April 3, 2020

FDIC Issues List of Banks Examined for
CRA Compliance

WASHINGTON - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today issued its list of state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).  The list covers evaluation ratings that the FDIC assigned to institutions in January 2020. 

The CRA is a 1977 law intended to encourage insured banks and thrifts to meet local credit needs, including those of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations.  As part of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), Congress mandated the public disclosure of an evaluation and rating for each bank or thrift that undergoes a CRA examination on or after July 1, 1990.

You may obtain a consolidated list of all state nonmember banks whose evaluations have been made publicly available since July 1, 1990, including the rating for each bank, or obtain a hard copy from FDIC's Public Information Center, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, VA 22226 (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200).

A copy of an individual bank's CRA evaluation is available directly from the bank, which is required by law to make the material available upon request, or from the FDIC's Public Information Center.

Attachments:

# # #

Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's banks and savings associations, 5,177 as of December 31, 2019. It promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars—insured financial institutions fund its operations.





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IRS Newswire March 25, 2020

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Issue Number:    IR-2020-59

Inside This Issue


IRS unveils new People First Initiative; COVID-19 effort temporarily adjusts, suspends key compliance programs

WASHINGTON – To help people facing the challenges of COVID-19 issues, the Internal Revenue Service announced today a sweeping series of steps to assist taxpayers by providing relief on a variety of issues ranging from easing payment guidelines to postponing compliance actions.

“The IRS is taking extraordinary steps to help the people of our country,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “In addition to extending tax deadlines and working on new legislation, the IRS is pursuing unprecedented actions to ease the burden on people facing tax issues. During this difficult time, we want people working together, focused on their well-being, helping each other and others less fortunate.”

“The new IRS People First Initiative provides immediate relief to help people facing uncertainty over taxes,” Rettig added “We are temporarily adjusting our processes to help people and businesses during these uncertain times. We are facing this together, and we want to be part of the solution to improve the lives of all people in our country.”

These new changes include issues ranging from postponing certain payments related to Installment Agreements and Offers in Compromise to collection and limiting certain enforcement actions. The IRS will be temporarily modifying the following activities as soon as possible; the projected start date will be April 1 and the effort will initially run through July 15. During this period, to the maximum extent possible, the IRS will avoid in-person contacts. However, the IRS will continue to take steps where necessary to protect all applicable statutes of limitations.

“IRS employees care about our people and our country, and they have a strong desire to help improve this situation,” Rettig said. “These new actions reflect just one of many ways our employees are working hard every day to assist the nation. We care, a lot. IRS employees are actively engaged, and they have always delivered for their communities and our country. The People First Initiative is designed to help people take care of themselves and is a key part of our ongoing response to the coronavirus effort.”

More specifics about the implementation of these provisions will be shared soon. Highlights of the key actions in the IRS People First Initiative include:

Existing Installment Agreements – For taxpayers under an existing Installment Agreement, payments due between April 1 and July 15, 2020 are suspended. Taxpayers who are currently unable to comply with the terms of an Installment Payment Agreement, including a Direct Deposit Installment Agreement, may suspend payments during this period if they prefer. Furthermore, the IRS will not default any Installment Agreements during this period.  By law, interest will continue to accrue on any unpaid balances.

New Installment Agreements – The IRS reminds people unable to fully pay their federal taxes that they can resolve outstanding liabilities by entering into a monthly payment agreement with the IRS. See IRS.gov for further information.

Offers in Compromise (OIC) – The IRS is taking several steps to assist taxpayers in various stages of the OIC process:

  • Pending OIC applications – The IRS will allow taxpayers until July 15 to provide requested additional information to support a pending OIC. In addition, the IRS will not close any pending OIC request before July 15, 2020, without the taxpayer’s consent.
  • OIC Payments – Taxpayers have the option of suspending all payments on accepted OICs until July 15, 2020, although by law interest will continue to accrue on any unpaid balances.
  • Delinquent Return Filings - The IRS will not default an OIC for those taxpayers who are delinquent in filing their tax return for tax year 2018. However, taxpayers should file any delinquent 2018 return (and their 2019 return) on or before July 15, 2020.
  • New OIC Applications – The IRS reminds people facing a liability exceeding their net worth that the OIC process is designed to resolve outstanding tax liabilities by providing a “Fresh Start.” Further information is available at IRS.gov

Non-Filers –The IRS reminds people who have not filed their return for tax years before 2019 that they should file their delinquent returns. More than 1 million households that haven’t filed tax returns during the last three years are actually owed refunds; they still have time to claim these refunds. Many should consider contacting a tax professional to consider various available options since the time to receive such refunds is limited by statute. Once delinquent returns have been filed, taxpayers with a tax liability should consider taking the opportunity to resolve any outstanding liabilities by entering into an Installment Agreement or an Offer in Compromise with the IRS to obtain a “Fresh Start.” See IRS.gov for further information.

Field Collection Activities - Liens and levies (including any seizures of a personal residence) initiated by field revenue officers will be suspended during this period. However, field revenue officers will continue to pursue high-income non-filers and perform other similar activities where warranted.

Automated Liens and Levies – New automatic, systemic liens and levies will be suspended during this period.

Passport Certifications to the State Department – IRS will suspend new certifications to the Department of State for taxpayers who are “seriously delinquent” during this period. These taxpayers are encouraged to submit a request for an Installment Agreement or, if applicable, an OIC during this period. Certification prevents taxpayers from receiving or renewing passports.

Private Debt Collection – New delinquent accounts will not be forwarded by the IRS to private collection agencies to work during this period.

Field, Office and Correspondence Audits – During this period, the IRS will generally not start new field, office and correspondence examinations. We will continue to work refund claims where possible, without in-person contact. However, the IRS may start new examinations where deemed necessary to protect the government’s interest in preserving the applicable statute of limitations.

  • In-Person Meetings - In-person meetings regarding current field, office and correspondence examinations will be suspended. Even though IRS examiners will not hold in-person meetings, they will continue their examinations remotely, where possible. To facilitate the progress of open examinations, taxpayers are encouraged to respond to any requests for information they already have received - or may receive - on all examination activity during this period if they are able to do so.
  • Unique Situations - Particularly for some corporate and business taxpayers, the IRS understands that there may be instances where the taxpayers desire to begin an examination while people and records are available and respective staffs have capacity. In those instances when it’s in the best interest of both parties and appropriate personnel are available, the IRS may initiate activities to move forward with an examination -- understanding that COVID-19 developments could later reduce activities for an agreed period.
  • General Requests for Information - In addition to compliance activities and examinations, the IRS encourages taxpayers to respond to any other IRS correspondence requesting additional information during this time if possible. 

Earned Income Tax Credit and Wage Verification Reviews – Taxpayers have until July 15, 2020, to respond to the IRS to verify that they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit or to verify their income. These taxpayers are encouraged to exercise their best efforts to obtain and submit all requested information, and if unable to do so, please reach out to the IRS indicating the reason such information is not available. Until July 15, 2020, the IRS will not deny these credits for a failure to provide requested information. 

Independent Office of Appeals – Appeals employees will continue to work their cases. Although Appeals is not currently holding in-person conferences with taxpayers, conferences may be held over the telephone or by videoconference. Taxpayers are encouraged to promptly respond to any outstanding requests for information for all cases in the Independent Office of Appeals.

Statute of Limitations - The IRS will continue to take steps where necessary to protect all applicable statutes of limitations. In instances where statute expirations might be jeopardized during this period, taxpayers are encouraged to cooperate in extending such statutes. Otherwise, the IRS will issue Notices of Deficiency and pursue other similar actions to protect the interests of the government in preserving such statutes. Where a statutory period is not set to expire during 2020, the IRS is unlikely to pursue the foregoing actions until at least July 15, 2020.

Practitioner Priority Service – Practitioners are reminded that, depending on staffing levels and allocations going forward, there may be more significant wait times for the PPS. The IRS will continue to monitor this as situations develop.

“The IRS will continue to review and, where appropriate, modify or expand the People First Initiative as we continue reviewing our programs and receive feedback from others,” Rettig said. “We are committed to helping people get through this period, and our employees will remain focused on these and other helpful efforts in the days and weeks ahead. I ask for your personal support, your understanding – and your patience – as we navigate our way forward together. Stay safe and take care of your families, friends and others.”

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united states coast guard

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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Mariner Credentialing Program Impacts – Update #1

The Coast Guard published Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) 08-20 announcing several updates based on the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective March 19, 2020, the Coast Guard’s 17 Regional Examination Centers (REC) and 3 Monitoring Units (MU) are closed to the public until further notice.

 

All REC/MU customer walk-in service is suspended and all scheduled examinations and appointments are cancelled. REC appointment calendars are closed. The National Maritime Center (NMC) will closely monitor the situation and restore these services as soon as possible.

In an effort to minimize customer service disruptions:

  • The Customer Service Center call center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. You may reach the call center at 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662) and IASKNMC@uscg.mil. Mariners are asked to not try to reschedule appointments until the NMC re-opens the appointment calendars. The NMC will provide notice when the calendars are available.
  • For improved service and security use the electronic submission process. Guidance and REC/MU e-mail addresses are located on the NMC website. Be advised that electronic submissions will only be accepted in PDF format. Other formats such as .zip files and camera captured images will not be accepted.
  • National Endorsements: Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) and Medical Certificates (National Endorsements only) that expire between March 1, 2020, and July 31, 2020, are extended until October 31, 2020. Mariners actively working on expired credentials that meet the expiration criteria must carry the expired credential with a copy of MSIB 08-20.
  • STCW Endorsements: MMCs with STCW endorsements that expire between March 1, 2020, and July 31, 2020, are extended until October 31, 2020. Mariners who are actively working on expired credentials that meet the expiration criteria must carry the expired credential with a copy of MSIB 08-20.
  •  STCW Medical Certificates: STCW Medical Certificates are valid for 3 months from the expiration date in accordance with STCW Regulation I/9. Mariners who are actively working on expired Medical Certificates that meet the expiration criteria must carry the expired certificate with a copy of MSIB 08-20.
  •  Additional Administrative Measures: The following items that expire between March 1, 2020, and July 31, 2020, are extended until October 31, 2020: Additional Information letters, Qualified Assessor letters, Designated Examiner letters, Proctor Approval letters, Approved to Test letters, Mariner Training course completion certificates.
  • Pilot Annual Physical Examinations: 46 USC 7101(e)(3) requires that pilots undergo an annual physical examination each year while holding a credential. The Coast Guard does not intend to enforce this requirement given the current national emergency and the lack of medical care. This measure ONLY relaxes the requirement for an annual physical and not the actual medical standards.

 At this time, NMC operations in Martinsburg, WV, are being minimally impacted by COVID-19. This is a dynamic situation and updates will be provided as needed. The NMC understands this reduction in service may affect our industry customers and stakeholders, and we apologize for any potential inconvenience.

 

Sincerely,

/K. R. Martin/ Kirsten R. Martin

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard Commanding Officer



03/19/2020 12:00 AM EDT
TULSA, Okla. – As the United States Attorney’s Office continues its public safety mission, U.S. Attorney Trent Shores cautions the public to be aware of fraud schemes seeking to exploit the evolving COVID-19 public health crisis.


logo MARKET STATUS
 
 
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03/20/2020, 08:38

NYSE OPTIONS QUOTE RELIEF

NYSE American Options and NYSE Arca Options has granted double width quote relief for all option symbols for March 20, 2020




logoNYSE TRADER UPDATE
 
03/18/2020, 17:34

NYSE TO MOVE TEMPORARILY TO ALL-ELECTRONIC TRADING MONDAY, MARCH 23

On Monday, March 23, New York Stock Exchange will initiate its business continuity plan (“BCP”) and move, on a temporary basis, to fully electronic trading.

All-electronic trading will begin with Monday’s market open. The facilities to be closed comprise the NYSE equities trading floor in New York, NYSE American Options trading floor in New York, and NYSE Arca Options trading floor in San Francisco. The decision to temporarily close the trading floors represents a precautionary step to protect the health and well-being of employees and the floor community in response to COVID-19.

“NYSE’s trading floors provide unique value to issuers and investors, but our markets are fully capable of operating in an all-electronic fashion to serve all participants, and we will proceed in that manner until we can re-open our trading floors to our members,” said Stacey Cunningham, President of the New York Stock Exchange. “While we are taking the precautionary step of closing the trading floors, we continue to firmly believe the markets should remain open and accessible to investors. All NYSE markets will continue to operate under normal trading hours despite the closure of the trading floors.”

The NYSE has robust, regularly tested contingency plans in place to initiate fully electronic trading on its exchanges that have physical trading floors. On the NYSE’s equities market, the Exchange’s Designated Market Makers will connect to the exchange electronically to provide liquidity in their stocks, however floor broker order types will be unavailable. On the NYSE’s options markets, electronic trading will continue normally but open-outcry trading will be suspended with the closure of the options trading floors.


BCP Frequently Asked Questions Document



03/16/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A federal jury in Salt Lake City, Utah, convicted California businessman Lev Aslan Dermen, also known as Levon Termendzhyan, of criminal charges today relating to a $1 billion renewable fuel tax credit fraud scheme, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah, Don Fort Chief of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Lance Ehrig for the Denver Area Office of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Criminal Investigation Division, and Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Mentavlos for the Denver Area Office of Defense Criminal Investigative Service.




logo NYSE TRADER UPDATE
 
03/12/2020, 09:37

MWCB LEVEL 1 - 7 % S&P 500 DECLINE - ALL TRADING HALTED

Due to a 7 percent decline in the S&P 500 index, in accordance with the NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, NYSE National and NYSE Chicago Rule 7.12, equity trading at the NYSE Exchanges has been halted. Information about order entry during the halt and the reopening process is available here

The market will re-open today at the following time: 9:50:44 ET


03/11/2020 12:00 AM EDT
The former CEO of an Irvine-based financial services and insurance company has been sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for defrauding elderly victims who thought their money was being invested in a certificate of deposit at a major bank – but, instead, was actually used to fund his lavish lifestyle.

03/11/2020 12:00 AM EDT

Tampa, Florida – Richard De La Cruz (55, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to making false statements relating to health care matters in connection with writing opioid prescriptions. De La Cruz faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. According to the plea agreement, De La Cruz was a Florida-licensed physician who worked for MD2U, a now-shuttered, Kentucky-based company that provided a network of in-home primary care for patients. MD2U commonly used nurse practitioners, instead of physicians, to conduct in-person examinations and evaluations of patients in the Tampa Bay area, including those who were prescribed opioids. In mid-2014, the Florida Board of Medicine (“FBOM”) determined that De La Cruz and MD2U’s practice of prescribing controlled substances without an in-person evaluation by a physician violated Florida medical standards and regulations. Contrary to the FBOM ruling, De La Cruz continued to write opiate prescriptions to MD2U patients without personally meeting with and evaluating the patients. De La Cruz concealed this in claims later submitted to Medicare for payment of the opiate prescriptions. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Middle District of Florida Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit. The Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit was created by the Department of Justice to focus on opioid-related health care fraud, using data to identify and prosecute individuals who contribute to the prescription opioid epidemic. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelley Howard-Allen and Greg Pizzo.
03/11/2020 12:00 AM EDT
A federal jury sitting in Houston, Texas, found a pharmacist guilty Tuesday of charges related to health care fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

03/11/2020 12:00 AM EDT
Matthew Harrell has been sentenced for his role in organizing and managing a health care fraud scheme that stole millions in Medicaid funds in Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida



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First Round of Refunds Totaling $153 Million Sent to Consumers As a Result of Multi-Agency Case Against Western Union

Approximately $153 million is being mailed to 109,000 consumers in the first distribution of refunds resulting from the law enforcement actions brought against Western Union by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The affected consumers are receiving compensation for 100 percent of their losses.

Explore Data with the FTC - Learn more about FTC refunds to consumersThe FTC’s complaint against Western Union alleged that for many years, Western Union was aware that fraudsters around the world used the company’s money transfer system to bilk consumers, and that some Western Union agents were complicit in the frauds. The FTC’s complaint alleged that Western Union failed to put in place effective anti-fraud policies and procedures and to act promptly against problem agents.

“Western Union turned a blind eye to the fraudulent payments made through its money transfer system,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We’re glad to be returning money to those consumers who were ripped off by fraudsters exploiting the Western Union system, and we will not tolerate Western Union or other payment companies facilitating fraud.”

“The $153 million distribution announced today brings some measure of justice for the elderly and other victims who were financially harmed by the fraudulent schemes in this case,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department remains resolute in its efforts to not only prevent fraud from occurring in the first place, but also to find and return ill-gotten gains.”

“Money Transfer Businesses such as Western Union are particularly susceptible to misuse by scammers,” said U.S. Attorney David J. Freed for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “In nearly every case of this nature that we have encountered in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, money transfer businesses are used to facilitate the crimes. Working together with MLARS and the skilled and dedicated investigators of the Postal Inspection Service, we have achieved outstanding results – bringing fraudsters to justice and holding businesses such as Western Union accountable. In addition to increased fraud detection and protections, an integral part of that accountability involves Western Union making victims whole. $153 Million is a good start.”

“The losses and the number of victims in this case are staggering. This initial disbursement will provide relief to more than 100,000 individuals, who lost $153 million,” said Assistant Postal Inspector in Charge John Walker of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Philadelphia Division. “Some lost their life’s savings as a result of these scammers. Postal Inspectors continue to be out front when it comes to investigating these con men and in protecting American citizens from them. Today, we are happy to play a third role—returning money to those who were scammed. Delivering justice, and in this case, delivering restitution.”

The company’s settlement with the FTC required Western Union to pay $586 million in monetary relief. That money was paid to DOJ in connection with Western Union’s joint settlement with that agency. DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section is administering the consumer refund program. This distribution is the first of multiple payments over the coming months to consumers who lost money due to Western Union’s actions.

More information about the Western Union refund program and its compensation to victims is available on the Western Union remission website at www.westernunionremission.com. Further questions may be directed to the Western Union Remission Administrator by phone at 844-319-2124 or by email at info@WesternUnionRemission.com.

The FTC’s new interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds, as well as refund programs from other FTC cases. In 2019, FTC actions led to more than $232 million in refunds to consumers across the country.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).

Contact Information

CONTACT FOR CONSUMERS:
Redress Administrator
844-319-2124

Related Refunds




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Credit Repair Company Settles FTC Charges It Deceived Consumers By Telling Them “Piggybacking” on Others’ Credit Could Boost Scores

Defendants promise “huge” credit score increases, ease in obtaining mortgages

A Colorado-based credit repair company and its owner have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges they mislead consumers with promises to “drastically and immediately” improve credit scores and increase access to lower rates on mortgages.

In its complaint against the operators of BoostMyScore.net (BMS), the FTC alleges that the defendants guaranteed consumers that, in exchange for fees ranging from $325 to $4,000, they could “piggyback” on unrelated consumers’ good credit, artificially inflating their own credit score in the process.

“Good credit isn’t for sale,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “This company charged people thousands of dollars based on hollow promises that ‘piggybacking’ on a stranger’s good credit would raise their credit score or help them get a mortgage.”

In piggybacking, a consumer pays to be listed on another person’s well-maintained credit account, ostensibly receiving the benefit of the good account on their own credit even though they can’t access the account. In this case, the FTC alleges, defendants charged struggling consumers steep, illegal fees and made unsupported promises about how piggybacking would pave the way to new credit, including mortgages and other loan products.

According to the complaint, BMS made unwarranted promises in various advertisements that consumers’ credit scores would increase by anywhere from 100 to 120 points over two to six weeks. BMS also allegedly charged consumers upfront for the credit repair services they offered, which is illegal under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). The complaint alleges that the defendants violated the FTC Act, CROA, and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).

Under the terms of the proposed settlement with the FTC that will soon be filed with the court, BoostMyScore, LLC, BMS, Inc., and William O. Airy will be prohibited from selling fake access to another consumer’s credit as an authorized user and from collecting advance fees for credit repair services, as well as other violations of CROA. They will also be prohibited from misrepresenting a product or service as being legal, as well as from misrepresenting the terms of a refund or return policy. The defendants also will be banned from further violations of the TSR. The settlement also includes a monetary judgment of $6,630,678, which will be partially suspended upon payment of $64,863 due to the defendants’ inability to pay. Should the defendants be found to have misrepresented their financial condition, the full judgment would be immediately payable.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint and stipulated final order was 5-0. The FTC filed the complaint and final order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

NOTE: The Commission files 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 final orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Related Cases

More news from the FTC >>



U.S. Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

 

 

 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CONCLUDES HISTORIC ARBITRATION OF A MERGER DISPUTE

Arbitration Will Resolve the Issue of Product Market Definition in the Novelis-Aleris Merger

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice this week concluded an arbitration that will resolve a civil antitrust lawsuit challenging Novelis Inc.’s proposed acquisition of Aleris Corporation. 

The lawsuit seeks to preserve competition in the North American market for rolled aluminum sheet for automotive applications, commonly referred to as aluminum auto body sheet.  This marks the first time the Antitrust Division has used its authority under the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. § 571 et seq.) to resolve a matter.

“This first-of-its-kind arbitration has allowed us to resolve the dispositive issue in this case efficiently, saving taxpayer and private resources, while providing critical time-certainty,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “The Antitrust Division looks forward to the arbitrator’s opinion, and will study this matter both to assess the circumstances in which arbitration may be appropriate and to identify possibilities for further streamlining the process.  We will continue to examine ways to enforce our competition laws in a manner that maximizes the Division’s scarce enforcement resources to protect American consumers.”

On Sept. 4, 2019, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio seeking to block Novelis Inc.’s proposed acquisition of Aleris Corporation.  Prior to filing the complaint, the Antitrust Division reached an agreement with defendants to refer the matter to binding arbitration if the parties were unable to resolve the United States’ competitive concerns with the defendants’ transaction within a certain period of time. 

As described in Plaintiff United States’ Explanation of Plan to Refer this Matter to Arbitration, filed on the district court’s docket, fact discovery proceeded under the supervision of the district court.  Following the close of fact discovery, the matter was referred to binding arbitration to resolve a single issue: whether aluminum auto body sheet constitutes a relevant product market under the antitrust laws. 

The arbitration procedure allowed for a flexible and efficient proceeding presided over by an arbitrator with extensive expertise in antitrust law and economics.  Former Federal Trade Commission Director of the Bureau of Competition and experienced antitrust lawyer, Kevin Arquit, was selected as the arbitrator.  The hearing was held over ten days (including some partial days) in the Antitrust Division’s Anne K. Bingaman Auditorium and Lecture Hall in the Liberty Square Building in Washington, D.C.  Eleven fact witnesses and three expert witnesses testified in the proceedings.  The parties agreed to dispense with certain evidentiary requirements to allow for a more flexible and efficient hearing.  The parties also dispensed with the need for post-trial briefing and agreed that the arbitrator will render a short decision of no more than five pages by March 13.

If the United States prevails, the United States will then file a proposed final judgment that requires Novelis to divest certain agreed-upon assets to preserve competition in the relevant market.   If the defendants prevail, the United States will seek to voluntarily dismiss the complaint.  Novelis has held separate the agreed-upon divestiture assets pursuant to a hold separate stipulation and order entered by the district court, and defendants are permitted to close the transaction pursuant to this order. 

Novelis is a Canadian corporation headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.  It offers flat-rolled aluminum products in three segments: automotive, beverage can, and specialty products.  In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, Novelis’s revenues were approximately $12.3 billion.  Novelis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Ltd., an Indian company headquartered in Mumbai, India. 

Aleris is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.  It offers flat-rolled aluminum products to the automotive, aerospace, and building and construction industries, among others.  In 2018, Aleris’s revenues were approximately $3.4 billion. 

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

###

ATR 

20-282





logoNYSE TRADER UPDATE
 
03/05/2020, 12:29

NYSE - BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS (BCP) TESTING REMINDER

As previously announced, on March 7, 2020, the NYSE Group exchanges, the FINRA/NYSE TRF and Global OTC will conduct BCP/DR testing in the Cermak Data Center between 8:30 - 11:00 am ET. All platforms will be available and customers will be able to connect to their DR sessions, submit orders and subscribe to market data. All symbols will be available for firms to send messages and to receive data. For details, please click here.


logo TRADER UPDATE
 
03/06/2020, 09:00

NYSE ARCA EQUITIES - TEMPORARILY WIDENS CORE OPENING AUCTION PRICE COLLARS TO 10%

On Friday, March 6, 2020, NYSE Arca Equities will temporarily widen the price collars for its Core Open Auction to 10% for all securities per NYSE Arca Rule 7.35-E (a)(10)(A). The price collars for the Closing Auctions and Halt Re-opening Auctions remain unchanged.

Core Open Auction price collar percentages will revert to standard levels on Monday, March 9, 2020


03/05/2020 12:00 AM EST



FTC@100 Banner

by Cristina Miranda, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

Who doesn’t want to earn easy, fast money online, and make six figures a year? That’s what an online business coaching and investment opportunity called “My Online Business Education”, or MOBE, promised. Finding the company behind it didn’t deliver on their claims, the FTC shut them down in 2018. Even with the company shuttered, FTC then went after Affiliates who had promoted MOBE.

Read more>

FTC and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Challenge Proposed Merger of Two Major Philadelphia-area Hospital Systems

The Federal Trade Commission has authorized an action to block the proposed merger of Jefferson Health and Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, two leading providers of inpatient general acute care hospital services and inpatient acute rehabilitation services in both Philadelphia County and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

The FTC issued an administrative complaint (a public version of which will be available and linked to this news release as soon as possible) alleging that the proposed merger would reduce competition in both Philadelphia and Montgomery counties.

According to the complaint, Jefferson and Einstein have a history of competing against each other to improve quality and service, including by upgrading medical facilities and investing in new technologies. The proposed merger would eliminate the robust competition between Jefferson and Einstein for inclusion in health insurance companies’ hospital networks to the detriment of patients.

“Patients in the Philadelphia region have benefitted enormously from the competition between the Jefferson and Einstein systems,” said Ian Conner, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “This merger would eliminate the competitive pressure that has driven quality improvements and lowered rates. Throughout our investigation, we have benefited from close cooperation with our partners in the Office of the Attorney General of Pennsylvania.”

The Commission has authorized staff to seek a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent the parties from consummating the merger, and to maintain the status quo pending the administrative proceeding. The FTC, jointly with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, will file a complaint in federal district court.

Jefferson and Einstein offer a broad range of medical and surgical diagnostic and treatment services that require an overnight hospital stay, known as inpatient general acute care, or GAC, services. Einstein’s GAC hospitals compete significantly with Jefferson’s GAC hospitals in and around North Philadelphia and Montgomery County. The complaint alleges that, as a result of the merger, the parties would control at least 60% of the inpatient GAC hospital services market in and around North Philadelphia, and at least 45% of that market in and around Montgomery County.

Inpatient rehabilitation facilities, or IRFs, provide intensive multi-disciplinary rehabilitation services to patients previously treated at GAC hospitals who are recovering from serious, acute conditions such as a stroke, traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury. Collectively, Jefferson and Einstein operate six of the eight IRFs in the Philadelphia area in and around Einstein’s flagship Moss at Elkins Park facility. According to the complaint, as a result of the merger, the parties would control at least 70% of the inpatient acute rehabilitation services market in the Philadelphia area.

The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint and to authorize staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was 4-0-1, with Chairman Joseph J. Simons recused. The administrative trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 1, 2020. The federal court complaint and request for preliminary relief will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The issuance of the administrative complaint marks the beginning of a proceeding in which the allegations will be tried in a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

 

Related Case

 


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Rent-to-Own Operators Settle Charges that They Restrained Competition through Reciprocal Purchase Agreements

FTC alleges that agreements by Aaron’s Inc., Buddy’s Newco, LLC, and Rent-A-Center, Inc. reduced competition, lowered quality and selection of products

Rent-to-own operators Aaron’s Inc., Buddy’s Newco, LLC, and Rent-A-Center, Inc. have agreed to settle FTC charges that they negotiated and executed reciprocal purchase agreements in violation of federal antitrust law.

The complaints allege that from June 2015 to May 2018, Aaron’s, Buddy’s, and Rent-A-Center each entered into anticompetitive reciprocal agreements with each other and other competitors. These agreements swapped customer contracts from rent-to-own, or RTO, stores in various local markets. An outcome was that one party to the agreement closed down stores and exited a local market where the other party continued to maintain a presence. These reciprocal agreements likely led to store closures that may not have occurred otherwise, resulting in reduced competition for quality and service in the remaining stores, according to the complaints. In addition, many consumers travel to their designated store to make their regular payments in person. If their store closes, these customers must travel to the next-closest location, which may significantly increase their travel time and costs.

These agreements also explicitly required the selling party not to compete within a specified territory, typically for a period of three years.

“These agreements affected consumers who already had few options for furnishing a home on a limited budget,” said Ian Conner, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The FTC’s orders get rid of the agreements, reopen affected markets to competition, and bar these companies from doing this again.”

The FTC’s consent agreements prohibit the three RTO companies and their franchisees from entering into any reciprocal purchase agreement or inviting others to do so, and from enforcing the non-compete clauses still in effect from the past reciprocal purchase agreements. The three RTO companies must also implement antitrust compliance programs, notify the Commission in the event of certain changes in corporate governance, and grant the Commission access to company facilities as needed to ensure compliance with the order. Finally, due to prior board-level relationships between Aaron’s and Buddy’s, these firms are barred from having any of their representatives serve as a board member or officer of a competitor, and from allowing any competitor’s representative to serve on their boards.

Further details about the consent agreements are set forth in the analysis to aid public comment for this matter.

The Commission vote to issue the complaint and accept the proposed consent order for public comment was 3-2. Chairman Joseph J. Simons and Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips issued a joint statement. Commissioner Rohit Chopra issued a dissenting statement.

The FTC will publish the consent agreements package in the Federal Register shortly. Instructions for filing comments appear in the published notice. Comments must be received 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Once processed, comments will be posted on Regulations.gov.

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $43,280.

 



Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Bridget Small
Consumer Education Specialist

The FTC is sending refund checks to more than 541,000 people who paid for repairs and technical services when they took their computers to Office Depot or Office Max stores for a free “PC Health Check.”

Read more >

Offices of the United States Attorneys

02/19/2020 12:00 AM EST

The Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) is fully prepared to implement the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA), which goes into effect today. The SBRA was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump last August.
02/19/2020 12:00 AM EST

A Bradbury man has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges that he falsely promised profits to more than 70,000 victim investors worldwide in a scheme where a multinational company issued a sham digital currency purportedly asset-backed by billions of dollars’ worth of amber and other precious gemstones.


Former Chief Executive Officer of SEMAC Sentenced for Wire Fraud in Connection With His Theft of Over $3.4 Million from SEMAC
02/20/2020 12:00 AM EST




02/20/2020, 14:10

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES - TRADING RESUMPTION IN CCC WS

NYSE American Equities will resume trading in the following symbol at the time specified below:

Trading will resume: 14:15 ET

CCC WS - Clarivate Analytics Plc Warrants



02/20/2020, 08:18

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES - REGULATORY HALT IN CCC WS

NYSE American Equities has halted the following symbol for news dissemination:

CCC WS - Clarivate Analytics Plc Warrants - 08:12:21 ET

logoTRADER UPDATE
 
02/13/2020, 03:52

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES - REGULATORY HALT IN MNI

NYSE American Equities has halted the following symbol for news pending:

MNI - The McClatchy Company - 03:51:45 ET


02/12/2020, 16:08

NYSE BQT - PRIMARY LISTING MARKET OPENING AND CLOSING PRICES

The NYSE BQT (Best Quotes and Trades) proprietary market data feed currently publishes the opening price, high price, low price, closing price, and cumulative volume for all securities traded on the NYSE group markets. Beginning March 2, 2020, the consolidated stock summary message (message type 229) will include the primary listing market’s official opening and closing price in an existing field. NYSE BQT format changes are not required for market data subscribers.

Client specifications reflecting these changes are available on the NYSE BQT product page:

These changes will be available in the NYSE CERT environment on February 17, 2020 and will be available in production on March 2, 2020.



02/12/2020, 08:59

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES - TRADING RESUMPTION IN ZOM

NYSE American Equities will resume trading in the following symbol at the time specified below:

Trading will resume: 09:05:00 ET

ZOM - Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Corp.



02/10/2020, 10:20

IMPLEMENTATION OF LULD PLAN AMENDMENT 18 (ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE-WIDE BANDS) - FEBRUARY 24, 2020

As previously announced, on Monday, February 24, 2020, the NYSE equity exchanges (NYSE, NYSE American, NYSE Arca, NYSE Chicago and NYSE National), in coordination with other equities markets, will implement Amendment 18 to the Limit Up Limit Down Plan. This amendment changes the calculation of price bands for NMS stocks between 9:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m., and between 3:35 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.*

Price Bands for an NMS Stock are calculated, during regular trading hours, by applying the Percentage Parameter for such NMS Stock to the Reference Price, with the Lower Price Band being a Percentage Parameter below the Reference Price, and the Upper Price Band being a Percentage Parameter above the Reference Price. Currently, the Price Bands are calculated by applying double the Percentage Parameters between 9:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m., and between 3:35 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

LULD Amendment 18 eliminates the doubling of percentage parameters:

• between 9:30 - 9:45 a.m.

• between 3:35 - 4:00 p.m. for Tier 2 NMS stocks with a reference price above $3.00.

Tier 1 NMS stocks will continue to be subject to doubling of percentage parameters between 3:35 - 4:00 p.m.


* In the case of an early scheduled close, during the last 25 minutes of trading before the early scheduled close. All times are ET.



Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

FTC@100 Banner

FTC Sues Online Trading Academy for Running an Investment Training Scheme

Defendants target older Americans with false or unfounded earnings claims

The Federal Trade Commission has sued the California-based investment training scheme Online Trading Academy (OTA), led by Eyal Shachar. The FTC alleges that OTA uses false or unfounded earnings claims to sell “training programs” costing as much as $50,000.  OTA has collected more than $370 million from consumers nationwide within the last six years. 

According to the FTC, OTA misrepresents that it has a patented “strategy” that anyone can use to generate substantial income from trading in the financial markets. OTA claims that its strategy is designed to generate income in any market, “whether it’s going up, down or sideways.” The company’s claims are often targeted at older consumers.  Additionally, OTA “instructors”—salespeople on commission who market OTA’s training and strategy to consumers in live events across the county—often hold themselves out as successful traders who have amassed substantial wealth using OTA’s strategy.

However, OTA does not track the trading results of its customers, and the FTC alleges that OTA’s own surveys indicate that its customers are not making the type of income OTA advertises. Trading data from a platform used by OTA customers also suggest that the vast majority of OTA’s customers do not make any money, and many lose money on top of the money they pay OTA. Evidence obtained by the FTC also indicates that instructors’ claims of amassing wealth by using OTA’s strategy are false or unsubstantiated.

“It is illegal to make earnings claims in marketing investment opportunities or training, unless the seller has a reasonable basis to make such claims,” said Andrew Smith, the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “OTA has used unfounded earnings claims to bilk Americans out of their savings.”

The FTC also alleges that OTA has required customers who request a refund to sign contracts barring them from posting negative comments about OTA or its personnel, and specifically from reporting wrongdoing to law enforcement agencies.

The defendants in the case include OTA Franchise Corp, Newport Exchange Holdings, NEH Services, Inc., Eyal Shachar (also known as Eyal Shahar), Samuel Seiden, and Darren Kimoto.  They are charged with violating the FTC Act and the Consumer Review Fairness Act.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

NOTE: The Commission files 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. The case will be decided by the court.

 

 

 




Coronavirus: Scammers follow the headlines

by Colleen Tressler
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding the Coronavirus. They’re setting up websites to sell bogus products, and using fake emails, texts, and social media posts as a ruse to take your money and get your personal information. Here are some tips to help you keep the scammers at bay.

Read more >


CME

CME


02/10/2020, 14:33

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES - REGULATORY HALT IN DPW

NYSE American Equities has halted the following symbol for news pending:

DPW - DPW Holdings Inc. - 14:29:14 ET


 
 
logo TRADER UPDATE
 
02/10/2020, 14:40

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES - REGULATORY HALT IN CANF

NYSE American Equities has halted the following symbol for news pending:

CANF - Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. - 14:37:13 ET



logo TRADER UPDATE
 
02/10/2020, 14:57

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES - TRADING RESUMPTION IN CANF

NYSE American Equities will resume trading in the following symbol at the time specified below:

Trading will resume: 15:05:00 ET

CANF - Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd.



logo TRADER UPDATE
 
02/10/2020, 14:46

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES - TRADING RESUMPTION IN DPW

NYSE American Equities will resume trading in the following symbol at the time specified below:

Trading will resume: 14:55:00

DPW - DPW Holdings Inc.




logo TRADER UPDATE
 
02/07/2020, 10:46

NYSE ARCA EQUITIES - FIHD - SHORT SALE RESTRICTION TO BE LIFTED

NYSE Arca Equities - Due to the cancellation of the trade that triggered the Sell Short Restriction in FIHD - UBS AG FI Enhanced Global High Yield ETN - the Sell Short Restriction on this issue will be lifted at 10:50 ET.


logo TRADER UPDATE
 
02/06/2020, 16:27

NYSE OPTIONS: UPDATE - MODIFIED BID/ASK DIFFERENTIALS FOR TSLA

NYSE American Options and NYSE Arca Options have revised the quote spread relief for Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) to $20.00 wide.

For additional details, and the full list of issues that have been granted quote spread relief, please see the revised NYSE American Options Trader Update and NYSE Arca Options Trader Update. These modified bid/ask differentials will be in effect through the March 20, 2020 expiration cycle.


logo TRADER UPDATE
 
01/31/2020, 16:26

NYSE AMERICAN FEE CHANGES EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 3

Subject to effectiveness of an SEC filing, NYSE American proposes to amend its Price List for shares with a price of $1.00 or above beginning February 3, 2020.

For the full notice, please click here.




logo TRADER UPDATE
 
02/05/2020, 13:03

Q1 2020 AUTHORIZED TRADER SUBMISSION FOR NYSE / NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES / NYSE ARCA EQUITIES / NYSE CHICAGO / NYSE NATIONAL

REMINDER:

NYSE, NYSE American Equities, NYSE Arca Equities, NYSE Chicago and NYSE National ETP holders are required to submit via email any changes to their list of personnel authorized to conduct business over the phone with the NYSE Trading Operations Desk. Services affected include oral requests for:

  • Order cancellations and bulk cancellations
  • Firm or line ID execution reports
  • Order status and order history
  • Any other firm-sensitive information
Firms are reminded to send any list updates to trading@nyse.com
Additionally, firms should take this opportunity to confirm the list of Authorized Administrators for the Pillar Trade Ops Portal (TOPS) web-based tool. Please email crs@nyse.com for a list of TOPS Authorized Administrators on file for your firm.
TRADER UPDATE

logo TRADER UPDATE
 
02/04/2020, 13:53

NYSE US EXCHANGES TO CLOSE IN OBSERVANCE OF WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY

In observance of Washington’s Birthday, the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE American Equities, NYSE Arca Equities, NYSE Chicago, NYSE National, NYSE American Options, NYSE Arca Options, and NYSE Bonds markets will be closed on Monday, February 17, 2020.

For more information on holidays, please see NYSE Holidays and Hours.

 

01/29/2020, 09:21

NYSE AMERICAN EQUITIES: IPO RELEASE NOTICE FOR SYMBOL ANVS

The initial public offering of Annovis Bio Inc. (ANVS) will be released on NYSE American Equities today for trading between 10:30 ET and 10:45 ET.

Orders are now being accepted.


logo TRADER UPDATE
 
01/28/2020, 15:23

NYSE OPTIONS: *ACTION REQUIRED* CONTRA INFORMATION ON FIX DROP COPY

In March 2020, NYSE American Options and NYSE Arca Options will be enhancing FIX Drop Copy execution reports to include contra party information. This will be a mandatory change and all FIX Drop Copy consumers are requested to update their system configurations accordingly.

In support of this change, the below FIX tags will be added to FIX Drop Copy execution reports. For additional information, please refer to the updated Drop Copy FIX Specification.

Tag#
Field
Description
337
ContraTrader
Counterparty TPID
375
ContraBroker
Counterparty CMTA
7694
ContraCapacity
Counterparty custorfirm
9863
ContraClearingAccount
Counterparty OCC ID

These new tags will be available for testing on Monday, February 3, 2020 on the NYSE Options’ Enhanced Certification environment(s).

Production go-live dates will be announced in a subsequent Trader Update.



U.S. Department of Justice

02/11/2020 12:00 AM EST
An East Greenwich, Rhode Island, property developer was sentenced to eight years in prison today for operating a $10.3 million dollar Ponzi scheme and obstructing an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman for the District of Rhode Island.
02/11/2020 12:00 AM EST
PROVIDENCE – An East Greenwich attorney and businesswoman who duped family members, friends, and business associates as she operated a $10.3 million Ponzi scheme to help finance an extravagant lifestyle, including a $1 million home, numerous expensive trips abroad and multiple trips to the Super Bowl, and luxury items such as her collection of Louis Vuitton shoes, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Providence today to 8 years in federal prison and ordered to pay back her victims a total of $4.78 million.
02/11/2020 12:00 AM EST
BOSTON – A California man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with his role in an international money laundering scheme designed to hide the illicit proceeds of business email compromise (BEC) schemes.   
Doctor Sentenced to Probation and Home Confinement for Health Care Fraud
02/04/2020 12:00 AM EST
02/04/2020 12:00 AM EST

A federal jury found four Detroit-area physicians guilty today of health care fraud charges for their roles in a scheme to administer unnecessary back injections to patients in exchange for prescriptions of over 6.6 million doses of medically unnecessary opioids. Patients were required to get the injections in order to get the prescriptions, some of which were resold on the street by drug dealers, the evidence at trial showed.

FTC@100 Banner

New FTC Data Spotlight: Fake Check Scams Cause Big Losses, Especially for Consumers in Their Twenties

A new update from the Federal Trade Commission shows that fake check scams led to reported individual median losses of nearly $2,000 – losses far higher than on any other of the top ten scams reported to the FTC. According to the new data analysis, consumers in their twenties are more than twice as likely as people 30 and older to report losing money to these scams.

The FTC’s latest Consumer Sentinel Data Spotlight, drawing on complaints submitted from consumers across the country, calls attention to the growing prevalence of fake check scams. According to the spotlight, complaints about fake check scams are up 65 percent since 2015.

In fake check scams, consumers are contacted by a scammer, who sends them a check that looks real, with a request to send some of the money to a third party. When a consumer deposits the check, the money initially shows up in their bank account, making it seem as though the check was real. The consumer then sends the money on, as instructed by the scammer. Eventually, the consumer’s bank discovers the check was fake and removes the full amount from their account.

The FTC’s analysis showed that more than half of fake check scams involve a job offer or income opportunity of some kind, and scams involving selling items online represent nearly a fifth of the total.  

The analysis also shows that consumers in their twenties are often contacted by scammers directly through their college and university email accounts with messages made to look like official school communications.

The FTC has more information for consumers about fake check scams at ftc.gov/fakechecks. Consumers can report fake check scams at ftc.gov/complaint.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Contact Information

CONTACT FOR CONSUMERS:
Consumer Response Center
877-382-4357

NOTE: The indictment can be found here.

GENERIC DRUG EXECUTIVE INDICTED ON ANTITRUST AND FALSE STATEMENT CHARGES

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania returned an indictment against a former senior executive for his role in conspiracies to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs, and for making a false statement to federal agents who were investigating those conspiracies, the Department of Justice announced today.

The three-count indictment, filed today in Philadelphia, charges Ara Aprahamian, a former top executive at a generic pharmaceutical company, with participating in two conspiracies to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs. Aprahamian is charged with participating in the conspiracies when he was the Vice President of Marketing, and then the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at a corporation headquartered in New York engaged in the marketing and sale of generic drugs in the United States.

Count One charges Aprahamian for his role in a conspiracy with a generic drug company based in New Jersey and other individuals, from at least as early as March 2013 and continuing until at least June 2015. Count Two charges Aprahamian for his role in a conspiracy with a generic drug company based in Pennsylvania and other individuals, from at least as early as May 2013 and continuing until at least December 2015. According to the indictment, the defendant and his co-conspirators agreed to increase prices and allocate customers for numerous drugs, including, but not limited to, medications used to treat and manage arthritis, seizures, pain, various skin conditions, and blood clots.

In addition, Count Three of the indictment charges Aprahamian with making a false statement to an FBI agent when the FBI executed a search warrant at Aprahamian’s employer’s headquarters in September 2016. According to the indictment, Aprahamian falsely stated to the FBI that he never had a conversation with a competitor about the pricing of a product before that product was launched.

“Today’s charges demonstrate the Antitrust Division’s resolve in rooting out collusion that corrupted the marketplace for generic drugs and led to higher prices for critical medications used by millions of Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Along with our law enforcement partners, the Division will ensure that executives who cheat consumers are not immune from our antitrust laws, and that those who seek to impede or obstruct our investigations are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

“The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General is committed to ensuring that any activity related to price-fixing, bid-rigging and/or market allocation in the generic drugs industry is identified and aggressively investigated,” said Special Agent in Charge Scott Pierce, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. “The U.S. Postal Service spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year on health care costs, including expenses related to prescription drugs. This indictment is a testament to the dedication and determination of the legal and investigative teams and sends a clear message to anyone who would participate in this sort of activity. Along with our colleagues at the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General stands ready to support these critical inquiries going forward.”

“Americans suffering from chronic health problems and pain conditions should not have to be concerned about collusion by pharmaceutical executives that could increase the price of their essential medications,” said Timothy R. Slater, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “The FBI is dedicated to investigating and bringing those responsible for these crimes to justice, on behalf of the American public.”

“My Office is proud to announce yet another enforcement action in this ongoing criminal investigation with the Antitrust Division,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “This is the third pharmaceutical price fixing case announced in our District in just the last year, following cases against Rising Pharmaceuticals in December 2019, and Heritage Pharmaceuticals in May 2019. Along with our partners at the Antitrust Division, we remain heavily focused on illegal price fixing and market allocation in generic drugs and on addressing the impact those practices have on federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid. These criminal charges against a former top corporate executive are yet another important step in that fight.”

Aprahamian is the third executive charged for his participation in conspiracies to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs. The two individuals previously charged entered guilty pleas in January 2017. To date, two companies have also been charged. Both corporate charges were resolved by deferred prosecution agreement.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The offense charged in Counts One and Two carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims if either amount is greater than $1 million. The offense charged in Count Three is punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years, and a fine of not more than $250,000.

This case is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the generic pharmaceutical industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division with the assistance of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Anyone with information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to the generic pharmaceutical industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

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Court Stops Sprawling Scheme That Operated Hundreds of Websites That Deceived Consumers About Government Services

Defendants made millions of dollars from sites that overwhelmingly mislead consumers

A court has granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to preliminarily halt a scheme in which the defendants operated hundreds of websites that promised a quick and easy government service, such as renewing a driver’s license, or eligibility determinations for public benefits. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court held that the FTC was likely to prevail in proving that “the websites were patently misleading.”

The FTC’s filings in the case allege that consumers provided their information because they believe the websites will actually provide these services. Instead, consumers received only a PDF containing publicly available, general information about the service they sought.

Documents filed by the FTC allege that the defendants’ sites employed similar branding, language, and functionality to induce consumers to relinquish their credit card information, personal data, or both.

State Licensing Sites

According to the complaint, the defendants operated sites like DMV.com, which offers links for driver’s services in all 50 states and presents itself as a clearinghouse for many types of DMV-related services, from licensing to driving records, under the heading “Online DMV Services.” Other sites operated by the defendants included floridadriverslicense.org, coloradodriverslicenses.org, californiadrivers.org, and texasdriverslicenses.org.

The defendants used search-engine advertising and search-engine optimization to target consumers who search for state motor-vehicle or licensing services online. The FTC’s complaint alleges that in the spring and summer of 2019, entering the phrases “renew Florida drivers license online” and “get fishing license” into online search engines brought up the defendants’ sites as either the first- or second-listed link.

According to the complaint, after consumers submitted payment, in some instances, the sites simply linked back to the landing page, and the consumer received nothing. In other instances, the consumer received an email containing a link to a downloadable PDF with general, publicly available information.

The FTC alleges that the defendants’ sites did not deliver the promised services.

Public Benefits Sites

Documents filed by the FTC further allege that the defendants also operated dozens of websites that promise to verify consumers’ eligibility for public benefits. These sites appeared high in search results or sponsored links when consumers searched for ways to obtain public benefits.

The defendants’ public benefits sites offered to help consumers seeking government programs, such as housing assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, or unemployment benefits. According to the complaint, the sites solicited certain core pieces of personal information from consumers, including, but not limited to, their full name, address, date of birth, gender, telephone number, and email address.

According to the complaint, the sites also asked consumers about various sensitive topics, including their employment status, income range, social security eligibility, health insurance, credit-card debt, and health conditions. The FTC alleges that consumers who provided all the requested information on the defendants’ public benefits websites did not receive the promised eligibility determination.

According to the complaint, after providing information on the defendants’ public benefits websites, consumers almost immediately began receiving marketing emails from the defendants and third parties. Consumers also started receiving text messages containing marketing offers from the defendants and third parties. The emails and texts contained various marketing offers, including job-search assistance, free gift cards, and homebuyer grants. The complaint alleges that the defendants received millions of dollars from selling the personal data they collected from consumers through deceptive marketing.

The FTC complaint names as defendants Burton Katz, Brent Levison, Robert Zangrillo, Arlene Mahon, and Elisha Rothman, along with more than fifty companies they own and control.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

NOTE: The Commission files 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. The case will be decided by the court.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.



Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Cristina Miranda
Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

Online comparison sites can be great ways to check out products you want to try or buy. But are those reviews and rankings objective, accurate, and unbiased? It’s a question to always ask, and here’s why: Some online product reviews and rankings might be influenced by advertiser payments.

Read more >

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Statement of the FTC Chairman Regarding Announcement that Aveanna Healthcare and Maxim Healthcare Services have Terminated Their Acquisition Agreement

The Federal Trade Commission has closed its investigation into the proposed merger of Aveanna Healthcare and Maxim Healthcare.

“Staff of the Bureau of Competition and Bureau of Economics have investigated the proposed transaction for several months, including its potential effects in multiple localities across the country on markets both for nursing services and for private duty nursing care,” said FTC Chairman Joseph Simons. “As a result of that investigation, staff had concerns about the transaction’s potential anticompetitive effects. Now that the deal has been abandoned, patients and private duty nurses will continue to benefit from competition between Aveanna and Maxim.”

The Commission votes to disclose the existence of the investigation and close the investigation were both 5-0.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.



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Background Check Services Provider Agrees to Settle FTC Allegations that it Falsely Claimed Participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield


A company that provides security and investigative services, including background check services, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the firm misrepresented its participation in and compliance with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which enables companies to transfer consumer data legally from European Union countries to the United States.

In a complaint, the FTC alleges that New York-based T&M Protection Resources, LLC continued to claim participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield after its certification lapsed. In addition, the company failed to verify annually that statements about its Privacy Shield practices were accurate and failed to affirm that it would continue to apply Privacy Shield protections to personal information collected while participating in the program.

As part of the settlement, T&M is prohibited from misrepresenting its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, any other privacy or data security program sponsored by the government, or any self-regulatory or standard-setting organization. In addition, T&M is required either to continue to apply the Privacy Shield protections to personal information it collected while participating in the program or to return or delete the information.

The Commission voted 5–0 to issue the proposed administrative complaint and to accept the consent agreement with the company. The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register soon. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Once processed, comments will be posted on Regulations.gov.

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $43,280.

Related Case

 

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).  



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FTC and NY Attorney General Charge Vyera Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli, and Other Defendants with Anticompetitive Scheme to Protect a List-Price Increase of More Than 4,000 Percent for Life-Saving Drug Daraprim

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint in federal court against Vyera Pharmaceuticals, LLC, alleging an elaborate anticompetitive scheme to preserve a monopoly for the life-saving drug, Daraprim.

Daraprim is the gold standard treatment for a rare, potentially fatal parasitic infection known as toxoplasmosis. In most people, toxoplasmosis is easily contained by the immune system and causes no symptoms, according to the complaint. But for those with compromised immune systems—such as individuals with HIV/AIDS, cancer patients, or recipients of organ transplants—toxoplasmosis can lead to deadly infections of the brain and lungs.

“Daraprim is a lifesaving drug for vulnerable patients,” said Gail Levine, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. “Vyera kept the price of Daraprim astronomically high by illegally boxing out the competition.”

The complaint (a public version of which will be available and linked to this news release as soon as possible), which the FTC filed jointly with the New York State Office of the Attorney General, alleges that when Vyera acquired Daraprim, the drug had been an affordable, life-saving treatment for more than 60 years. Vyera immediately raised the list price from $17.50 to $750 per tablet, which significantly impacted access to care. Because the defendants knew the increase would attract generic competition, they maneuvered to preserve the Daraprim revenue stream, according to the complaint. They illegally restrained trade through restrictive distribution agreements that ensured that would-be generic entrants could not buy samples of Daraprim, the complaint alleges. Without samples, generics were unable to conduct the FDA-mandated bioequivalence tests necessary for obtaining approval. The defendants also prevented competitors from accessing a critical ingredient used to manufacture Daraprim.

In addition, the defendants signed “data blocking” agreements preventing several distributors from selling Daraprim sales data to third-party data reporting companies, the complaint alleges. Generic companies rely on this data to assess whether a given development project is worth pursuing. With these agreements, the defendants sought to keep potential generic competitors from accurately assessing the market.

The complaint alleges that consumers and other purchasers of Daraprim likely would have saved tens of millions of dollars by purchasing generic versions of Daraprim. Instead, as a result of the defendants’ anticompetitive conduct, there is no generic version on the market today.

The FTC’s complaint also names as defendants Martin Shkreli and Kevin Mulleady, who allegedly were directly responsible for orchestrating the anticompetitive scheme, as well as Phoenixus AG, Vyera’s parent company.

The complaint seeks equitable monetary relief to provide redress to purchasers who have overpaid for the drug. The complaint also seeks remedial injunctive relief to restore competitive conditions to the market, halt any ongoing anticompetitive conduct, and prevent the defendants from engaging in similar conduct in the future.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter issued concurring statements. The complaint was filed on Jan. 27, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

 

RELATED ACTIONS

 

Offices of the United States Attorneys

02/03/2020 12:00 AM EST
On January 23, Aleksei Burkov pleaded guilty to access device fraud and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, identity theft, wire and access device fraud, and money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when sentenced on May 8.
02/03/2020 12:00 AM EST
A Houston area man has entered a guilty plea to money laundering in connection with his scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA)
02/03/2020 12:00 AM EST
Two defendants charged in relation to a more than $40 million securities fraud “pump and dump” conspiracy have now been ordered to prison
01/30/2020 12:00 AM EST


01/28/2020 12:00 AM EST
WASHINGTON – The United States filed two civil complaints today seeking temporary restraining orders in landmark cases against five companies and three individuals allegedly responsible for carrying many millions of fraudulent robocalls from foreign call centers to individuals in the United States, the Department of Justice announced.
01/28/2020 12:00 AM EST
BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that the Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department and two Chinese nationals have been charged in connection with aiding the People’s Republic of China.  

Bergen And Burlington County, New Jersey, Religious Leaders Sentenced To Federal Prison For Conspiracy To Evade Taxes On Millions Of Dollars In Income From Church

01/28/2020 12:00 AM EST
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced today that the United States has filed a federal civil lawsuit against Surgical Care Affiliates, Inc., the Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery, L.P., and Dr. Patrick T. Hunter, alleging that they falsely billed Medicare and TRICARE, over a seven-year period, for unnecessary kidney stone procedures, and engaged in an illegal kickback arrangement in which Dr. Hunter referred patients to the Orlando Center.
01/28/2020 12:00 AM EST
01/27/2020 12:00 AM EST
Knoxville, Tennessee – The sentencing hearing of Joshua Small, 52, and Joni Amber Johnson, 36, both of Princeton, West Virginia, for their roles in a conspiracy to kidnap elderly victims and rob them, will continue Tuesday morning, January 28, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. before the Honorable Chief Judge Pamela Reeves in the United States Courthouse in Knoxville.

COURT ENTERS JUDGMENT THAT SIGNIFICANTLY MODIFIES AND EXTENDS CONSENT DECREE WITH LIVE NATION/TICKETMASTER

Amended Final Judgment Extends by Five and a Half Years the 2010 Live Nation/Ticketmaster Final Judgment; Live Nation to Pay Costs and Fees to American Taxpayers for Enforcement

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced on Dec. 19, 2019, that it would file a petition asking the court to clarify and extend by five and a half years the Final Judgment entered by the court in United States v. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:10-cv-00139-RMC (July 30, 2010). Today, the court entered the Amended Final Judgment. The court also set the procedure for naming of the Independent Monitoring Trustee. The Independent Monitoring Trustee is just one term within the Amended Final Judgment that will make enforcement of the decree for the extended time period more efficient.

“Live Nation broke the promises they made to the court and the American people when they merged with Ticketmaster in 2010; today, we are holding them accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The amended decree reimburses the American people millions of dollars and makes it easier for the Antitrust Division and state enforcers to identify and prosecute future transgressions.”

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

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01/27/2020 12:00 AM EST
Eight defendants have been sentenced for their roles in an Indian based call center fraud scheme that victimized thousands in the United States resulting in over $3.7 million in losses. The sentences ranged from six months to four years and nine months in prison.
01/23/2020 12:00 AM EST
BOSTON – The former Vice President of Sales of Insys Therapeutics was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in a nationwide conspiracy to bribe medical practitioners to unnecessarily prescribe a fentanyl-based pain medication and defraud healthcare insurers.

01/14/2020 12:00 AM EST
A former Fannie Mae employee was sentenced today to 76 months in federal prison for a multimillion-dollar scheme to take bribes and to discount sales of Fannie Mae-owned properties to herself and to real estate brokers in exchange for cash kickbacks.



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FTC Finalizes Settlements with Five Companies Related to Privacy Shield Allegations

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized settlements with five companies over allegations they falsely claimed certification under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which enables companies to transfer consumer data legally from European Union countries to the United States.

In separate actions, the FTC alleged that DCR Workforce, Inc., Thru, Inc., LotaData, Inc., and 214 Technologies, Inc. all falsely claimed in statements on their websites that they were certified under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. The FTC alleged that LotaData also falsely claimed that it was a certified participant in the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which establishes a data transfer process similar to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

Finally, the FTC alleged that EmpiriStat, Inc. falsely claimed it was a current participant in the Privacy Shield after allowing its certification to lapse, failed to verify annually that statements about its Privacy Shield practices were accurate, and did not affirm it would continue to apply Privacy Shield protections to personal information collected while participating in the program.

Under the settlements, all five companies are prohibited from misrepresenting their participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, any other privacy or data security program sponsored by the government, or any self-regulatory or standard-setting organization. EmpiriStat also is required to continue to apply the Privacy Shield protections to personal information it collected while participating in the program, or return or delete the information.

After receiving no comments, the FTC voted 5-0 to approve the settlements.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

 

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FTC Acts to Shut Down ‘Success by Health’ Instant Coffee Pyramid Scheme

Complaint alleges empty promises of wealth lead to millions in losses for participants

A federal court granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to temporarily shut down an alleged pyramid scheme known as “Success By Health,” and to freeze the assets of the company and its executives.

In a complaint filed in federal court, the FTC alleges that Success By Health and its executives James “Jay” Dwight Noland, Jr., Lina Noland, Scott A. Harris, and Thomas G. Sacca, Jr., are operating a pyramid scheme that uses false promises of wealth and income to entice thousands of consumers to join. The FTC alleges that the defendants have taken more than $7 million from consumers, and pocketed over $1.3 million for themselves.

The FTC alleges that less than 2 percent of participating consumers received more money from the defendants than they paid to them, and that those lucky few averaged less than $250 per month—a far cry from the defendants’ promises of “financial freedom.” After accounting for the costs of the program, products, and events, enrollees lost millions of dollars, the FTC’s filings allege.

The FTC also alleges that Jay Noland is violating a 2002 court order stemming from a previous FTC case related to another failed pyramid scheme. Shortly before launching Success By Health in 2017, the FTC alleges, Noland told an audience, “People ask what do I do. I said, ‘I build pyramids, man.’”

The FTC alleges that Success By Health’s flagship product is an instant coffee called “MycoCafe” that includes a mushroom that the defendants claim has health benefits. However, the FTC alleges that selling the product to coffee drinkers took a back seat to recruiting more affiliates. Company training materials allegedly show that affiliates were pressured first and foremost to recruit more affiliates. The company’s “Four Steps to Success” pointedly do not include any advice on selling the company’s product, but instead prioritize spending lots of money on products and recruiting others to “duplicate” the same spending and recruiting.

The defendants told affiliates that “the masses” could earn more than $1 million each month in sales commissions, the FTC alleges. However, the marketing materials allegedly failed to disclose that to achieve that level of commissions, an affiliate would have to recruit more than 100,000 affiliates working underneath them, the vast majority of whom would be losing money at any given time.

The complaint alleges that when affiliates did try to sell the product to other consumers, they found themselves in competition with the company itself. Success By Health sells its products directly to the public for the same “wholesale” price paid by affiliates, severely limiting affiliates’ ability to follow the defendants’ instructions to apply a 50 percent “markup” before selling to the public.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint and contempt order was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

NOTE: The Commission files 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. The case will be decided by the court.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.



 

The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2020

WWW.JUSTICE.GOV/NEWS

 

 

FORMER AIR CARGO EXECUTIVE EXTRADITED FROM ITALY FOR PRICE-FIXING

Case Marks Antitrust Division’s Most Recent Successful Extradition on Antitrust Charges

WASHINGTON – Maria Christina “Meta” Ullings, the former senior vice president of cargo sales and marketing for Martinair N.V. (Martinair Cargo) and a Dutch national, was extradited from Italy, the Department of Justice announced today.

On Sept. 21, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, Ullings was indicted for participating in a long-running worldwide conspiracy to fix prices of air cargo. A fugitive for almost 10 years, Ullings was apprehended by Italian authorities in July 2019 while visiting Sicily. Ullings initially contested extradition in the Italian courts, but after the Court of Appeals of Palermo ruled that she be extradited, she waived her appeal. She arrived in Atlanta on Jan. 10 and made her initial appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

“This extradition ruling by the Italian courts – the seventh country to extradite a defendant in an Antitrust Division case in recent years, and the second to do so based solely on an antitrust charge – demonstrates that those who violate U.S. antitrust laws and seek to evade justice will find no place to hide,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The Division appreciates the cooperation of the Italian authorities in this matter. With the assistance of our law enforcement colleagues at home and around the world, the Division will aggressively pursue every avenue available in bringing price fixers to justice.”

According to the indictment, Ullings conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing and coordinating certain surcharges, including fuel surcharges, charged to customers located in the United States and elsewhere for air cargo shipments. These air cargo shipments included heavy equipment, perishable commodities, and consumer goods destined for American consumers and shipped by American producers. Ullings is alleged to have participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as January 2001 until at least February 2006.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Including Ullings, a total of 22 airlines and 21 executives have been charged in the Justice Department’s investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry. To date, more than $1.8 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and seven executives have been sentenced to serve prison time.

Ullings is charged with violating the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

The Antitrust Division and the FBI led the United States’ extradition effort. Assistance with the extradition was provided by the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service. The investigation into the air transportation industry has been conducted by the Antitrust Division, the FBI, the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General.

Anyone with information concerning price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section at 202-307-6694 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

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The United States Department of Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2020

WWW.JUSTICE.GOV/NEWS

 

 

DOJ AND FTC ANNOUNCE DRAFT VERTICAL MERGER GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today withdrew the 1984 DOJ Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines, and, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), released new draft 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines (draft guidelines) and seeks public comment. The draft guidelines, open to comment for 30 days, describe how the federal antitrust agencies review vertical mergers to evaluate whether the mergers violate antitrust law. Vertical mergers combine two or more companies that operate at different levels in the same supply chain. The draft guidelines outline the agencies’ principal analytical techniques, practices, and enforcement policy for vertical mergers.

The agencies will review and consider the public comments before issuing final Vertical Merger Guidelines. The agencies cooperated closely in preparing the draft guidelines, which reflect the agencies’ significant experience in analyzing vertical mergers. The guidelines are intended to assist the business community and antitrust practitioners by providing transparency about the agencies’ antitrust enforcement policy with respect to vertical mergers.

“I appreciate the Antitrust Division working to update this decades-old statement regarding the practices and policies of the federal enforcement agencies in this critical area, in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen. “As this effort demonstrates, the Department of Justice is committed to principled and transparent antitrust enforcement, which promotes free enterprise, market competition, and ultimately the welfare of American consumers. We look forward to public input and finalizing this important work, along with the FTC.”

“While many vertical mergers are competitively beneficial or neutral, both the Department and the Federal Trade Commission have recognized for over 25 years that some vertical transactions can raise serious concern,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The revised draft guidelines are based on new economic understandings and the agencies’ experience over the past several decades and better reflect the agencies’ actual practice in evaluating proposed vertical mergers. Once finalized, the Vertical Merger Guidelines will provide more clarity and transparency on how we review vertical transactions. I look forward to receiving comments on these draft guidelines and working with the Federal Trade Commission in finalizing them.”

“Challenging anticompetitive vertical mergers is essential to vigorous enforcement. The agencies’ vertical merger policy has evolved substantially since the issuance of the 1984 Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines, and our guidelines should reflect the current enforcement approach. Greater transparency about the complex issues surrounding vertical mergers will benefit the business community, practitioners, and the courts,” said FTC Chairman Joseph J. Simons. “We invite comments from all stakeholders to help ensure that the guidelines clearly and accurately convey the agencies’ antitrust enforcement policy with respect to vertical mergers.”

The draft guidelines adopt the principles and analytical frameworks in the agencies’ Horizontal Merger Guidelines, including market definition, the analytic framework for evaluating entry considerations, the treatment of the acquisition of a failing firm or its assets, and the acquisition of a partial ownership interest. The draft guidelines describe the analytical and enforcement considerations that are specific to vertical mergers.

The draft guidelines:

  • describe potential anticompetitive effects resulting from vertical mergers, which may include both unilateral and coordinated effects;
  • identify foreclosure and raising rivals’ costs and access to competitively sensitive information as potential elements of antitrust harm under unilateral effects;
  • describe an analytic framework for analyzing potential anticompetitive effects of foreclosure and raising rivals’ costs;
  • discuss how the elimination of double marginalization may mitigate or completely neutralize the potential anticompetitive effects of vertical mergers;
  • discuss cognizable merger efficiencies that are specific to vertical mergers;
  • provide a number of examples to provide more clarity about the agencies’ analytical methods in evaluating vertical mergers.

Comments on the draft guidelines can be submitted to VMG Comments, and must be received no later than Feb. 11, 2020. 

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

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Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s proposed $74 billion acquisition of Celgene Corporation would violate federal antitrust law.

According to the complaint, which was first announced in November 2019, the proposed acquisition would likely harm consumers in the U.S. market for treatments taken orally for moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

In the largest divestiture that the FTC or the U.S. Department of Justice has ever required in a merger enforcement matter, Bristol-Myers Squibb will divest to Amgen, Inc., for $13.4 billion, Celgene’s Otezla—the most popular oral treatment in the United States for moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

The Commission vote to approve the final order was 3-2. Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter voted no.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

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01/09/2020 12:00 AM EST
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City of Shreveport Agrees to $342 Million Sewer System Upgrade to Comply with Clean Water Act

 

 

Release Date: 11/13/2013
Contact Information: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, 214 665-2200 or R6press@epa.go

The city of Shreveport, La., has agreed to make significant upgrades to reduce overflows from its sanitary sewer system and pay a $650,000 civil penalty to resolve Clean Water Act (CWA) violations stemming from illegal discharges of raw sewage, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.  The state of Louisiana, a co-plaintiff in this case, will receive half of the civil penalty.

When wastewater systems overflow, they can release raw sewage and other pollutants, threatening water quality and potentially contributing to disease outbreaks.  To come into compliance with the CWA, the city estimates it will spend approximately $342 million over the next 12 years in order to improve the sewer system’s condition.  While the city upgrades the system, it will also implement a program for capacity management, operation, and maintenance to help reduce sanitary sewer overflows.

“The key provisions of this settlement will eliminate overflows of raw sewage in neighborhoods that have for too long been subject to these contaminated overflows,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Dreher.  “These provisions are critical to protecting the public health of all citizens of Shreveport.”  

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to assisting our federal partners and the state in protecting the environment and public health,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley.  “Sewer overflows are a public health hazard.  The citizens of Shreveport are the beneficiaries of this settlement, which will eliminate these overflows

“Keeping these discharges out of our waterways is a priority for the EPA and the state of Louisiana,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry.  “The residents of Shreveport deserve clean water and reliable infrastructure, and this agreement will help achieve that.”

The Justice Department, on behalf of the EPA, filed a complaint against the city alleging that, since 2005, the city has had untreated sewage overflows from its sanitary sewer system in violation of the CWA and state-issued discharge permits.  The cause of these illegal overflows stems largely from the city’s failure to properly operate and maintain the condition of the sewer system, resulting in discharges of untreated sewage into local waterways and the community.

Shreveport’s wastewater collection and treatment system, including the Lucas and North Regional waste water treatment plants, serves approximately 220,000 people in an environmental justice area. 

Keeping raw sewage out of the community and the waters of the United States is a national priority for EPA, as sewage overflows can present a significant threat to human health and the environment.  These discharges can degrade water quality, spread bacteria and viruses, and cause diseases ranging from gastroenteritis to life-threatening conditions such as cholera and dysentery.  

The settlement, which will be lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, is subject to a 30-day public comment period before the court can give final approval and enter the consent decree as final judgment, at which time it will become effective.  The proposed consent decree can be viewed online at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

More information about the settlement:  www2.epa.gov/enforcement/city-shreveport-settlement

More information about EPA’s national enforcement initiative: www.epa.gov/compliance/data/planning/initiatives/2011sewagestormwater.html

More information about Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Plans: cfpub.epa.gov/npdes

 

 

 

 

 

 

HGN

 

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