Consumer Protections

Los Angeles (CA) – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today that a 56-year-old woman has been charged with scamming more than a dozen immigrants by pretending to be a consultant -- and at times -- an attorney. “We have seen time and time again predatory practices against the most vulnerable victims,” District Attorney Gascón said. “This person...

By Don Thompson The Pill Club, an online women’s pharmacy, has reached an $18.3 million settlement with California authorities over claims it defrauded the state’s Medicaid program by prescribing birth control pills without adequate consultation and shipping tens of thousands of female condoms to customers who didn’t want them. Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the agreement Tuesday, a day after a...

Los Ángeles (CA) – Eran apenas las ocho de la mañana cuando Marisa González recibió una llamada urgente de una vecina cuya familia había recibido una orden de evacuación que afectaba al Cañón de Matilija, situado en el condado de Ventura. Durante días, este paraíso natural de California había sido duramente castigado por las lluvias torrenciales, que provocaron derrumbes...

A Puerto Rico man was scheduled to make his initial appearance this week at the federal courthouse in Manhattan to face commodities fraud, commodities market manipulation, and wire fraud charges in connection with the manipulation of the Mango Markets decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. According to court documents, Avraham Eisenberg, 27, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $110 million worth...

MIAMI — Daniela Rendon, 31, of Miami made her appearance in federal magistrate court today and was charged with fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief loans and grants under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief Program. According to the indictment, Rendon submitted fraudulent applications seeking COVID-19 relief funds from the Small Business Administration and PPP. She is...

A federal grand jury in Las Vegas returned an indictment yesterday charging three individuals with operating a mail fraud scheme that defrauded thousands of U.S. victims, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable. According to court documents, Kimberly Stamps, 46, of Gilbert, Arizona; John Kyle Muller, 56, of Boulder, Colorado; and Barbara Trickle, 78, of Las Vegas, conspired to operate...

Three California companies have agreed to pay a total of $530,000 to settle allegations that they knowingly violated the False Claims Act when they received and retained more than one Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan prior to Dec. 31, 2020, in violation of PPP rules. La Baguette, LLC, which operates a bakery in Palo Alto, has agreed to pay $430,000...

Maryland Felon Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $419,000 in COVID-19 CARES Act Loans While on Probation for a Previous Federal Conviction The Defendant Made False Statements on the Applications to Obtain the Loans, Then Misappropriated Some of the Funds to Pay Her Personal Expenses, including a Car, a Boat, a Vacation, and Tickets...

Orchestrator used investors’ funds to buy cars, real estate, and a boat Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Neil Chandran, Garry Davidson, Michael Glaspie, Amy Mossel, Linda Knott, AEO Publishing Inc, Banner Co-Op, Inc, and BannersGo, LLC for their involvement in a fraudulent investment scheme named CoinDeal that raised more than $45 million from sales of...

Forcount Trader Systems' creator and promoters orchestrated $8.4 million fraud Washington D.C., Dec. 14, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Francisley Valdevino Da Silva, Juan Antonio Tacuri Fajardo, Ramon Antonio Perez Arias, and Jose Ramiro Coronado Reyes for their roles in creating and promoting Forcount Trader Systems, Inc., a fraudulent crypto asset pyramid scheme that raised more...