Every investigation we've published, newest first — each one built on primary documents and classified under our evidence standard.
When PPP funds were running out in real time, small businesses needed speed. The FTC says Biz2Credit promised quick processing, then created roadblocks that cost some businesses their only shot at the money.
Read the full report →Regulators banned two for-profit fundraisers from soliciting donations for a cancer charity. According to a federal complaint, the charity's own director simply hired a third one and kept going.
Read the full report →Womply told small businesses and gig workers they could reliably get emergency pandemic funding through its platform. The FTC says more than 60 percent of applications never resulted in a loan.
Read the full report →Birch Communications processed carrier switches for business telephone customers using verification methods that did not satisfy federal requirements, collecting long-distance fees from accounts it was never authorized to serve.
Read the full report →The FTC charged Paltalk with intercepting users' audio communications during video chat sessions under conditions that the agency found violated the federal wiretap statute and the FTC Act's prohibition on deceptive and unfair practices — requiring the platform to implement a comprehensive privacy program and submit to independent audits.
Read the full report →A crypto trading bot that supposedly generated profits 'even while you sleep.' Amazon storefronts sold as passive income. The FTC says few consumers who paid for either ever made money.
Read the full report →The FTC charged American Achievement Corporation with embedding undisclosed fees in its graduation product packages — class rings, caps and gowns, announcements, and diplomas — sold through school-authorized programs, finding that the full cost to families was materially higher than the prices prominently featured in the company's school marketing materials.
Read the full report →The FTC charged Aspire Health Science with marketing its CBD products with claims that they treated or cured cancer, COVID-19, autism, Alzheimer's disease, and chronic pain — claims the agency found were not backed by credible scientific evidence and that exploited seriously ill patients and their families.
Read the full report →Greenbrook TMS settled investor claims that management made financial projections inconsistent with the actual clinic-level economics the company was tracking internally — including insurance authorization challenges and utilization rates that were running below the levels embedded in public projections.
Read the full report →Avast marketed its antivirus software as a shield against online tracking. The FTC says the company collected and sold users' browsing histories — including religious beliefs and health searches — for six years.
Read the full report →A small supplement maker marketed vitamins and zinc as capable of fighting off COVID variants. The case that followed ended in an unusually lenient settlement — after the company's founder publicly challenged how it began.
Read the full report →Small businesses were promised fast funding with no upfront fees. A jury found the company's operator threatened to break a customer's jaw over a missed payment — and seized personal and business assets far beyond what any contract allowed.
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