The Federal Trade Commission is returning an additional $ 25 million to consumers who lost money because of a business coaching program that used the names Coaching Department and Apply Knowledge, among others. These refunds are the result of FTC settlements with the program leaders, the companies through which the program operated, and a payment processor who helped facilitate the program.
According to the FTC, the defendants defrauded consumers millions of dollars by falsely telling them that they could make thousands of dollars a month by purchasing their business coaching services and starting an Internet business. The lawsuit alleges that consumers who signed up for the program lost thousands – sometimes tens of thousands – of dollars each, most by accumulating huge credit card debt at the behest of the defendants.
The funds for this distribution come from the FTC’s case against First data merchant services, LLC (first data), one of the many companies that processed credit card payments for the defendants in this case. First Data ignored repeated warnings, FTC says employees, banks and others they were processing payments for companies that broke the law. First Data agreed to pay $ 40 million to settle the FTC’s charges, which was also used to reimburse consumers in the FTC’s cases against International elevator and EM systems and services.
In that distribution, 10,749 consumers will receive FTC checks totaling over $ 25.6 million. Previous redemption distributions in this case totaled over $ 2 million.
People who receive checks must deposit or cash them within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Recipients who have questions about their checks should call the Refunds Administrator, Analytics, LLC, at 844-982-1005. The FTC never requires people to remit money or provide account information to cash a refund check.
FTC interactive dashboards for reimbursement data provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. In 2020, the FTC’s 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 did not have the power to enforce it. under section 13 (b) to seek pecuniary relief in federal court in the future. The The Commission urged Congress to restore the FTC’s ability to collect money for consumers.