The defendant also was ordered to make restitution payments to victims. On July 27, 2020, the Department filed a civil complaint against MyLife.com and its founder Jeffrey Tinsley seeking injunctive relief, redress, and civil penalties under the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act for unfair and deceptive conduct in selling online subscriptions to purported consumer background reports and for selling background reports without complying with the legal requirements for doing so. Victims sent such fees to Shaw, who then forwarded a portion of the money to Jamaica. The United States alleged in an October 2017 complaint that inspections at a facility that Blanchet previously owned found numerous violations of the current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations, including failing to adequately control the risk of Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono) and Clostridium botulinum toxin formation in fish or fishery products. Live Updates: The Civil Rape Case Against Donald Trump Goes to Under Rule 4 (a) this is to be followed forthwith by issuance of a summons and its delivery to an officer for service. Docket Number: 0:18-CV-0532 (D. Minn.). Jury Finds All Defendants Liable in Utah Telemarketing CaseUnited States v. Feature Films for Families, Inc., et al.Docket Number: 2:12-CV-0811 (D. Utah). Suit Filed Against California Telemarketer to Halt Unlawful Robocalls Promoting Solar Panel SalesUnited States v. KFJ Marketing et al.Press Release Contrary to these agreements, Turner sold the drugs to drug wholesalers at higher prices. N.C.). The injunction, which will last for at least five years, follows an October 20, 2015 order in which the court granted the governments motion for summary judgment, finding that the defendant company, Serra Cheese, was adulterating cheese products under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. On March 13, 2019, the two remaining defendants in the USP Labs case pleaded guilty in Dallas to felony charges in connection with a scheme to fraudulently sell workout supplements. The complaint also alleged that the defendants distributed unapproved new drugs that they claimed could be used to treat such medical conditions as cancer, heart disease, HIV and AIDS. Start a report Weir admitted that claims the device could safely and effectively treat virtually any disease were false and intended to mislead consumers. The permanent injunction requires Scilabs and Edalat to cease all operations connected to the company, and not to resume until FDA determines that their manufacturing practices have come into compliance with the law. Docket Number: 2:14-CV-14450 (E.D. Rossi pleaded guilty in December 2017 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Court Enters Preliminary Injunction Against Telecom Carriers Alleged to Facilitate Hundreds of Millions of Fraudulent Robocalls, United States v. Palumbo, et al. Find court specific information to help you file a case electronically and developer resources. United States v. Omar Cuzcano Marroquin, et al., Case No. On May 1, 2018, the district court entered a consent order requiring the countrys major cigarette companies to begin posting corrective statements on their websites starting on Monday, June 18. Tex.). According to the complaint, United States residents received fraudulent direct mail solicitations that falsely claimed that the recipients had won, or would soon win, cash or valuable prizes or otherwise come into great fortune. The resolution also includes a civil settlement with the federal government, including a payment of approximately $2.158 million, to resolve allegations that Baxter Florida Company Enjoined from Distributing Misbranded and Adulterated Medicated FeedsUnited States v. Syfrett Feed Company, Inc., et al.Press Release Mich.), Court Enters Injunction Against Seafood Manufacturer in California. Smith was also ordered to pay $724,408.79 in restitution. Docket Number: 1:17-CR-10288 (D. Yabe pled guilty to one misdemeanor violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. On May 9, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a civil penalty and injunction imposed by the district court against Spectrum Brands, Inc., a multinational consumer products distributor based in Madison, Wisconsin. Smith also was ordered to pay $167,532.95 in restitution. The multi-faceted settlement includes a Statement of Facts in which Moodys acknowledged key aspects of its conduct, and a compliance agreement to prevent future violations of law. 3 minutes ago ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Three former womens basketball players at Eastern New Mexico University have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming their coach coerced them to undergo treatments that amounted to sexual assault by her volunteer trainer husband. A restitution order required the defendant to pay restitution of more than $3.8 million, and the court repeatedly ordered the defendant to sell his condominiums in Costa Rica and apply the funds to his restitution obligations. The CDC did not identify any deaths related to the outbreak. The drugs were authorized and dispensed without any valid doctor-patient relationship; the websites linked to RX Limited focused on selling Soma, tramadol, and Fioricet directly to customers. Filing a Case According to a signed plea agreement, from approximately September 2019 to November 2019, Reyes intentionally and unlawfully imported counterfeit THC vaping materials from China. On June 23, 2020, Gareth David Long, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison for stealing millions of dollars from hundreds of thousands of consumers. For more information, see the Press Release dated May 1, 2020. Victims banks reversed only approximately half of these charges, and Long succeeded in stealing more than $11 million. Before closing in July 2010, Vendstar made approximately $10 million to $12 million in sales per year. District Court Enters Consent Decree of Permanent Injunction Against Maine Fish Processor UnitedStates v. Mill Stream Corporation and Ira J. Frantzman, Press ReleaseDocket Number: 1:16-CV-0080 (D. Former Auto Body Shop Owner Sentenced for Role in Odometer and Title Fraud SchemeUnited States v. Paul RobinsonPress Release DAntonios two co-defendants, Ronald Rodis and Charles Wayne Farris, previously pled guilty. As part of his plea, Dailey agreed to forfeit $1,000,000 in illegal proceeds. Among other findings, the Court agreed with the government that statements of recommended uses published on company websites can be labeling under the FDCA pursuant to the Supreme Courts seminal 1948 decision in Kordel v. United States. Mich.). Executives of Canadian Payment Processor Charged with Fraud and Money LaunderingUnited States v. Day, Press Release For example, as alleged in the complaint, Isomeric failed to conduct an adequate investigation of black particles observed in vials of product that had passed visual inspection. In both cases, Dallals co-conspirators then sold the drugs to wholesalers and pharmacies throughout the United States with false pedigree documents that did not disclose the true sources of the drugs. The injunction follows a temporary restraining order entered on allegations that the defendants sent fraudulent notifications to consumers promising large cash prizes pending payment of small fees. Court Orders New York Company and its Operators to Stop Distributing Adulterated Dietary Supplements. Clenbuterol is only approved for sale in the United States as an equine bronchodilator, yet is sold on the black market for use by bodybuilders. );2:16-CV-12655 (E.D. The convictions stem from a series of incidents in which multiple patients at hospitals in Europe and the United States experienced serious infections after being treated with a duodenoscope manufactured by Olympus. Despite the fact that the company had told the FDA that the Stratus was intended to maintain an opening to a patients sinus, Facteau and Fabian launched the product intending it to be used as a steroid delivery device. Ryan, at the time a licensed physician in Virginia, was paid $2 per drug order. Long obtained the account information of his victims through purchasing detailed spreadsheets containing personal and financial information; and, account information that he possessed from his prior work as a payment processor for merchants and telemarketers. Docket Number: 4:19-CV-3214 (S.D. The clinical trial sought to compare the efficacy of two asthma treatments in a pediatric population. The callers told victims they had failed to pay for or receive a delivery of products, and claimed that victims faced court proceedings and owed thousands of dollars in fines. Docket Number: 2:14-cr-126 (E.D. On May 25, 2016, the Department of Justice secured a civil jury verdict in Salt Lake City, Utah, against Utah-based telemarketing defendants Feature Films for Families, Inc., Corporations for Character, L.C., Family Films of Utah, Inc., and Forrest S. Baker III. In pleading guilty earlier this year, Zhang admitted that he knew major American dietary supplement retailers would refuse to carry supplements known to contain certain stimulants, such as DMAA. In a complaint filed with the consent decree, the United States alleged that the fish at defendants facility was processed under insanitary conditions, chiefly because the defendants failed to adequately control the growth of Listeria monocytogenes. Delaware Cheese Company Pleads Guilty to Food Adulteration Charge; Company and Individuals Also Enter Consent DecreeUnitedStates v. Roos Foods, Inc. Press ReleaseDocket Number: 1:16-MJ-0013(D. A lock ( On November 4, 2016, Sheikh Waseem Ul Haq was sentenced to time served, and three years supervised release, for his role in a long-running conspiracy to ship pharmaceuticals from Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK) to customers in the United States. Clients made monthly payments expecting the money to go toward settlements. On July 9, 2020, U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams granted the governments motion for default judgment against the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, along with two of the non-religious entitys four principals, Jordan Grenon and Jonathan Grenon, who were located in the United States. The callers also falsely threatened victims with court proceedings, negative marks on their credit reports, imprisonment, or immigration consequences if they did not immediately pay for the purportedly delivered products and settlement fees. This is the first enforcement action under the CCPA. The court also observed that even if it had jurisdiction to consider plaintiffs challenge to the FDA guidance document, the plaintiffs request to enjoin FDA from conducting an enforcement action was an impermissible attempt to test a defense pre-enforcement. U.S. Department of Justice
On August 20, 2018, the United States filed a civil complaint for permanent injunction against Foo Yuan Food Products Company, Inc., its owner and president Hsing Chang, and its secretary Susan Chang. Tex.). The money laundering was in connection with an international lottery fraud scheme involving co-conspirators in Florida and Jamaica. From January through July of 2013, Long created and deposited more than 750,000 unauthorized checks totaling more than $22 million. One co-defendant in the scheme was sentenced in March, and a third defendant is set to be sentenced in July. 4 | Page. Smith is a Jamaican national living in the United States. Ind.). According to the complaint in the case, the defendants mailed more than 1 million solicitations to potential victims in the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and elsewhere, grossing about $4.5 million annually since 2016. Docket Number: 3:16-CR-313-RJC (W.D.N.C.). The United States complaint, filed in September 2016, alleges that the defendants ran an international mail fraud scheme that sent millions of multi-piece solicitations to potential victims throughout the United States that professed to come from financial entities, scholars, and world-renowned psychics. Docket Number: 2:20-cv-6692 (C.D. The complaint alleged that, over a period of several years, the defendants dispensed highly addictive and highly abused prescription opioids while ignoring red flags that is, obvious indications of drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior. Rodis was paid for the use of his law license in an effort to lend legitimacy to the operation. Many victims received nothing; others received only a cheap piece of jewelry or a report listing unrelated sweepstakes. Sentencing will be held in U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas. On March 22, 2017, Cassandra Althea Palmer was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison and three years supervised release in connection with her participation in a Jamaican-based lottery scheme. The Seventh Circuit upheld the lower courts ruling here in May 2019. Armistead received $7,500 in cash from a victim in Maryland and deposited most of that money into accounts of a co-coconspirator. Press Release That scheme particularly affects elderly individuals throughout the country, and in several foreign countries. Among other provisions, the order bars the defendant from engaging in computer-security telemarketing, accepting payment for technical-support services, impersonating technology companies, and from conducting business through use of its email addresses in the @ozemioinc.com and @urgentechelp.com domains. The criminal information alleged that on Feb. 21, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a total of eight people (five adults and three newborns) in Maryland and California were infected with L. mono. Trial for the remaining defendants is scheduled to begin June 13, 2017. Some solicitations instruct recipients to pay a fee in order to receive their winnings; others urge recipients to purchase goods or services based on false promises that they will guarantee future lottery wins. Docket Number: 2:16-CR-0071 (D. Nev.). On appeal, the 11th Circuit ruled that juror exposure to extrinsic evidence of deaths related to the outbreak did not influence or contribute to the verdict. Cal.). Statute of Limitations: How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit? The complaint alleges that defendants failed to adequately control the risk of Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes (L. Montana Man Pleads Guilty for Designing Fraudulent Solicitations as Part of Large-Scale International Mass-Mailing Fraud Scheme United States v. Thomas Ressler Long Island Man Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud Conspiracy. Docket Number: 8:18-cv-996 (C.D. WebThis civil statute was a provision within the Crime Control Act of 1994 and makes it unlawful for any governmental authority, or agent thereof, or any person acting on behalf of a As set out in the Departments complaint, which was filed concurrently with the proposed joint Consent Decree on March 10, the defendants manufactured and distributed dietary supplement products as drugs that could help treat or prevent a host of serious conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, depression, hypertension, osteoporosis, and liver and kidney disorders. On March 1, 2016, David Romeo pleaded guilty to a an information charging mail fraud and introduction of misbranded food into interstate commerce with an intent to defraud or mislead, both in relation to a scheme in which he directed the sale of diluted and adulterated dietary ingredients and supplements sold by his three companies: Global Nutrients, Stella Labs, and Nutraceuticals International. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced early next year. Cadden was convicted of 57 counts following trial, including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, and violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Sentencing for USP Labs and SK Labs is set for July 14, 2020. Dietary Supplement Companies Sentenced in Case Involving Alleged Link to Liver Damage, U.S. v. USPLabs, et al. Cal.). A jury was selected Tuesday in E. Jean Carrolls rape lawsuit in a New York federal court. Va.). ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Three former womens basketball players at Eastern New Mexico University have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming their coach coerced them to undergo treatments that amounted to sexual assault by her volunteer trainer husband. Following controversy regarding the safety of DMAA, the defendants reformulated their products to contain a different substance called aegeline. Press Release The consent decree of permanent injunction was entered by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews on Jan. 26. Cal. District Court Enters Permanent Injunctions Against Two New York Companies Banning the Importation of Dangerous ToysUnited States v. Everbright Trading, Inc. et al. Sixteen other defendants pled guilty. Fla.). The callers claimed that victims owed thousands of dollars in fines, and threatened victims with supposed court proceedings, negative marks on credit reports, imprisonment, and deportation. The consent decree subjects the defendants to heightened FDA oversight and requires them to cease all operations until the defendants implement a number of new record-keeping and operational protocols designed to ensure consumer safety. In the settlement negotiated by the FTC, Vivint agreed to pay $15 million in civil penalties and $5 million in equitable relief, and to comply with injunctive relief requiring significant affirmative measures to ensure future compliance with the FCRA and to prevent recurrence of its past unlawful conduct. Press Release On August 8, 2018, the District Court permanently enjoined Patrick Fraser, Christopher Fraser, and Ubuki Kanehira, three members of an alleged Canada-based mass-mailing scheme. On May 1, 2020, Francesco Guerra pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and attempted extortion in connection with his supervision of call centers in Peru that threatened consumers across the United States into paying fraudulent settlements for nonexistent debts. The former Elle magazine advice columnist alleges that Trump raped her in a luxury department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Subject to Rules 23(e), 23.1(c), 23.2, and 66 and any applicable federal statute, the plaintiff may dismiss an action without a court order by filing: (i) a notice of dismissal before the opposing party serves either an answer or a motion for summary judgment; or As part of the consent decree, defendants agreed not to resume manufacturing, holding or distributing drugs until they comply with specific remedial measures set forth in the order entered by the Court. In many letters, Gore used a false name, claimed to be the Director/Legal Services-Collections, and threatened that lawyers would pursue legal proceedings against victims. District Court Enters Permanent Injunction to Stop New Jersey and New York Companies and Executives from Distributing Unapproved and Misbranded DrugsUnited States v. S Hackett Marketing LLC d/b/a Just Enhance, et al. Violations included having mold covering the ceiling of the walk-in cooler and moving racks of buns from the floor to food production surfaces without sanitizing them. The entry of the permanent injunction resolves the litigation. Bencosme is the second defendant to plead guilty in connection with this scheme. A copy of the Court Order is available. The verdict is the latest development in a lawsuit that the Department filed on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in May 2011, seeking, among other things, a permanent injunction and civil penalties against the defendants for engaging in widespread deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices in the course of selling and promoting DVDs and films. Summary Judgment Granted Against Manufacturer of Adulterated Dietary Supplements. United States v. Fresenius Kabi Oncology Limited Fla.). Chlorine dioxide is a potent agent used to bleach textiles, among other industrial applications, and a severe respiratory and eye irritant that can cause nausea, diarrhea and dehydration. Defendants refused in writing to cease their violative conduct even after receiving a warning letter from FDA and FTC advising that distribution of Miracle Mineral Solution violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Docket Number: 6:18-CR-0004 (D. The government alleged that Bobga and his co-conspirators fraudulently offered puppies and other animals for sale on internet websites. For more information, read Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or contact the PRO SE Clerk. Defendant Found in Civil Contempt in Connection with Lottery Fraud Scheme. Anna Watts for The New York Times. According to the complaint, the defendants marketed their products as being effective against infection by pathogens such as norovirus, rhinovirus, rotavirus, the flu virus, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria and Ebola, despite a lack of proof regarding the products safety and effectiveness for such uses. District Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Federal Trade Commission Impersonators in Sweepstakes Scheme, United States v. John Doe 1, et al. Texas Auto Dealer Plead Guilty in Automobile Fraud Scheme. During a bench trial conducted last summer, the government presented evidence that each of the defendants had failed to comply with current good manufacturing practices, failed to keep records necessary to evaluate food safety, and processed fish in a way that could lead to Listeria monocytogenes contamination, all in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). Cal.). On June 4, 2019, the district court entered two stipulated preliminary injunction orders against doctors Cesar B. Pena Rodriguez and Leovares A. Mendez to stop them from unlawfully prescribing powerful opioids linked to abuse and diversion. The decision was the culmination of eight years of litigation and a five-week trial arising out of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into Dishs violations of the FTCs Telemarketing Sales Rule. The FDA had specifically refused Acclarents request to clear the Stratus for marketing as a drug delivery device without further submissions to support that use. Docket Number: 1:20-cr-104 (E.D.N.Y.). Docket Numbers: 1:20-cv-473; 2:20-cv-474 (E.D.N.Y.). In his capacity as a sales representative, Marks also falsely told potential buyers that he and his family operated a profitable candy vending machine route. Barka, who primarily resided in Turkey during the course of the scheme, worked with a co-conspirator to send fraudulent prize notification letters to victims in the United States and numerous other countries. The issue of corrective statements to appear at retail locations where cigarettes are sold is being litigated on a separate track before the district court. FKOL also agreed to implement a compliance and ethics program designed to prevent, detect, and correct violations of U.S. law relating to FKOLs manufacture of cancer drugs intended for terminally ill patients.