The FTC and State of Illinois, via the Department of Justice, filed a complaint against B.E.S.T. GDR LLC (d/b/a Premium Home Service) and its owner Yosef Bernath for creating thousands of fake home repair business listings with fabricated five-star reviews to deceive consumers. The defendants allegedly routed consumer calls to unqualified representatives, arranged for unlicensed technicians, and violated the FTC Act, Reviews and Testimonials Rule, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and Illinois consumer protection laws. No monetary penalty has been imposed yet as the case is in initial filing stages.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements with marketing, lead generation, and review management vendors to ensure they prohibit the creation of fake business listings, fabricated reviews, and deceptive endorsements, and require compliance with the FTC Act and Reviews and Testimonials Rule. Clauses governing online advertising, testimonial collection, and consumer financial information collection should be updated to mandate truthful representations, prohibit fraudulent statements to obtain financial data, and align with federal and state consumer protection laws. Customer-facing service agreements should also be reviewed to eliminate deceptive claims about local presence, technician availability, and service quality. Additionally, agreements with third-party call centers or offshore representatives should include clauses requiring accurate disclosures to consumers about service provider location and technician qualifications.
Entity
B.E.S.T. GDR LLC, d/b/a Premium Home Service
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/05/ftc-illinois-take-action-stop-deceptive-conduct-company-created-thousands-business-listings-fake
best gdr llc et al united states state illinois v timeline i
https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/best-gdr-llc-et-al-united-states-state-illinois-v-timeline-item-2026-05-11
commr meador premium home service statement
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/commr-meador-premium-home-service-statement.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Illinois-based B.E.S.T. GDR LLC, which does business as PHS"
"violated the FTC Act by making deceptive claims about being a local home-repair business operating from a specific address, making deceptive claims about sending technicians on a specific date and time from a local business, and making deceptive claims related to fake reviews"
"violated the Reviews and Testimonials Rule by writing, creating, buying, or selling fake reviews and seeking and using fake reviews from employees and relatives"
"violated the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act by making false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements to obtain consumers’ financial information"
"The complaint also alleges PHS violated Illinois consumer protection laws."
"May 11, 2026"
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$1.9M
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