The Russo Law Firm

  The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $5 million in refunds to consumers harmed by a deceptive credit card debt relief scheme known as ACRO Services. The FTC filed a lawsuit  in November 2022  against ACRO Services, which operated under multiple names such as American Consumer Rights Organization, Consumer Protection Resources, Reliance Solutions, Thacker & Associates, and Tri Star Consumer Group. The complaint charged the company and its owners with running a deceptive telemarketing operation that made numerous phony debt relief promises to consumers, including that they could greatly reduce or eliminate consumers’ credit card debt in 12 to 18 months. They charged consumers thousands of dollars in unlawful upfront enrollment fees and told them it was part of the debt that will be eliminated as part of the program. Consumers were also charged monthly fees ranging from $20-$35 for “credit monitoring” services. The individual defendants agreed to a se...

  Some student loan debt relief companies will lie and say they’re affiliated with the Department of Education when they’re not. They want their bogus claims of “guaranteed” loan forgiveness (for a fee) to seem more legitimate (they’re not). And that’s what the  FTC says  Prosperity Benefit Services did when it sent out mailers promoting “complete” student loan forgiveness. If you called, telemarketers would try to convince you to enroll in one of the company’s programs by telling you it was affiliated with the Department of Education (they weren’t) and claiming it would make you eligible for quick loan forgiveness (they wouldn’t).  To sign up, Prosperity Benefit Services asked for an (illegal) upfront fee, your FSA account data, and your signature to get you started on a monthly payment plan. What services would you get? Usually nothing. In the rare case it did submit your application, it was for  free federal repayment programs  you could've signed u...

Maybe you want to try out a product for a little while before you make a long-term decision. So, you sign up for a monthly subscription plan. Everything is fine until you want to cancel and it turns out to be a yearly subscription with monthly payments. Surprise! That’s what the FTC says happened to people who signed up for monthly subscriptions with Adobe. When people signed up on Adobe’s website for access to its software, the FTC says Adobe pre-selected the option for its “annual paid monthly” plan that put subscribers on the hook for a whole year of payments, paid in monthly increments — a fact that Adobe failed to explain or properly disclose. The lawsuit says Adobe used similar tactics when people signed up for a free trial and didn’t cancel before the trial ended. Adobe automatically placed them on the “annual paid monthly” plan without making it clear they were entering a one-year contract. When people tried to cancel before the year was up, they had to pay a hefty early te...

The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $2.4 million in refunds to consumers who paid for Lurn’s business consulting programs and were deceived about the amount of money they could make from these services. The FTC  sued Lurn in September 2023 , alleging that the online business coaching company made unfounded claims in order to sells its various money making programs. Lurn made outlandish claims about the kinds of money consumers could make through their programs, including that they could become a “Stay-At-Home Millionaire” with one program. For another program, the company claimed consumers could “Fail 98% of the Time & Still Be Able to Make $11,453 Per Month.” According to the complaint, the company had no information to back up these claims and very few, if any consumers actually made money with these programs. The FTC is sending payments to 1,922 consumers who purchased coaching or mentoring programs from Lurn. Most consumers will get a check in the mail. Recipi...

When you go through a toll, you know you’ll need to pay a fee to use that road or bridge. But scammers are targeting drivers with text messages pretending to be from the tolling agency collecting “overdue toll charges.” Here’s what to know about this text scam. The scammy text tells you to click a link to pay “overdue toll charges” to avoid late fees. But it’s probably not the tolling agency contacting you. It’s probably a scammer. Clicking the link can lead to a  phishing attack , where the scammer tries to take your personal information (like your driver’s license number) — and even steal your  identity . And if you pay, not only are you out the money, but the scammer gets your credit card number, too. To spot and avoid text scams about a fake toll: Slow down.  Don’t rush to click on links or respond to the text. Scammers want you to react quickly when they send you an unexpected text message, but it’s best to stop and check it out. Check with the tolling agency.  ...

  A Federal Trade Commission action against household water treatment funding company Aqua Finance, Inc. (AFI) has led to a   settlement   that will provide $20 million in refunds and an additional $23.6 million in debt forgiveness for consumers harmed by its dealers’ deceptive sales tactics. The FTC’s complaint  against AFI charges that the company’s nationwide network of dealers went door-to-door, deceiving consumers about the financing terms for water filtering and softening products. According to the complaint, the bogus claims left consumers with thousands of dollars in unexpected debt and huge interest payments, while its financing terms impaired some consumers’ ability to sell their homes. “AFI and its dealers used deceptive teaser rates to lure consumers into signing up for AFI’s loans, costing them hundreds of dollars extra apiece,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “As this order makes clear, the FTC will continue to u...

  Home products company Williams-Sonoma will be required to pay a record civil penalty of $3.175 million for violating a 2020 Federal Trade Commission order requiring the retailer to tell the truth about whether the products it sells are Made in USA. In a  complaint   filed by the Department of Justice upon notification and referral from the FTC, the agency charges that Williams-Sonoma listed multiple products for sale as being “Made in USA” when in fact they were made in China and other countries. The company  has agreed to a settlement   that requires them to pay the civil penalty, which is the largest ever in a Made in USA case. “Williams-Sonoma claimed its products were made in the United States even though they were made in China,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “Williams-Sonoma’s deception misled consumers and harmed honest American businesses. Today’s record-setting civil penalty makes clear that firms committing Made-in-USA fraud will not get a free pass.”...