On November 17, the FTC announced it had obtained a final order in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to permanently ban a business finance provider and its CEO from offering business financing, debt relief, or credit repair services. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the FTC filed a complaint in November 2024 alleging the company targeted small business owners with promises of loans or lines of credit, but instead charged substantial fees to open credit cards, often without the promised terms, while misrepresenting affiliations, fee structures, and how consumers’ credit scores would be impacted.

In a September order granting in part the FTC’s motion for summary judgment, the court found that the company and its CEO violated the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule by making false claims about lender relationships, financing terms, upfront fees, and credit score impacts. The court also determined that their contracts unlawfully restricted negative consumer reviews, in violation of the Consumer Review Fairness Act, and held the CEO personally liable for the company’s conduct.

This final order imposed a monetary judgment of $48,280,328 — suspended in part due to the defendants’ inability to pay, provided that the defendants transmit $250,000 to the FTC within 20 days of the order’s issuance and their financial representations are accurate and truthful. The order permanently prohibits the company and its CEO from: marketing or providing business financing, debt relief, or credit repair services; making misrepresentations about affiliations with other businesses or types of business, fees, or credit impacts; billing consumers without express informed consent; violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule; and restricting consumer reviews.