Penalty Amount
$17,000,000
Consumers Affected
2,124,796
The FTC alleged that Cleo AI misrepresented the amounts and timing of cash advances, charged fees for faster advances that often arrived later, and made subscriptions difficult to cancel. Following a $17 million settlement, the FTC is distributing more than $15.8 million in refunds to eligible customers.
Cleo AI agreed to pay $17 million in the settlement. The FTC is distributing more than $15.8 million to eligible customers who paid for qualifying instant cash advances.
Review customer terms and subscription agreements for clear disclosures of advance amounts, delivery timing, same-day or instant fees, and recurring subscription charges, and ensure cancellation is simple and effective. Check marketing and advertising approval clauses with vendors or affiliates to require substantiation of claims and prohibit misleading representations about available funds or timing. For payment processors and customer-service providers, review fee, complaint-handling, cancellation processing, records, and refund-assistance obligations; this release does not identify a privacy-specific violation, so privacy clauses are not the central issue.
Entity
Cleo AI Ltd.
Industry
Financial Services"Cleo AI"
"Agrees to Pay $17 Million"
"deceptive claims about the amounts and timing of available cash advances and the company’s hard-to-cancel subscriptions."
"2,124,796 Cleo AI customers"
"The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $15.8 million to consumers"
The FTC referred a complaint against REPS & Company Inc. and company executives, alleging they bypassed ticket-issuer security controls and purchasing limits to acquire millions of tickets for resale. The complaint was filed by the Department of Justice, and the case will be decided by the court; the press release does not report a penalty or other remedy imposed.
The FTC sued Digital Forensics Corporation LLC and affiliated defendants, alleging they misled sextortion victims with promises of investigative and monitoring services that often were not provided, and used fake positive reviews. A federal court granted the FTC’s request to temporarily halt the defendants’ activities; the complaint remains for the court to decide.
The FTC alleged that Greenway Auto Group advertised vehicle prices thousands of dollars below the amounts consumers actually paid and used mailers falsely suggesting recipients had won cash prizes. Greenway agreed to an order requiring transparent pricing and prohibiting deceptive prize mailers and other misrepresentations; the press release does not state a monetary penalty.
The FTC sent warning letters to 24 large healthcare services companies, cautioning that incomplete, inaccurate, or untimely pricing information for scheduled medical care may be unfair or deceptive. The letters urge recipients to review their price-disclosure practices and take corrective action; they announce no fine or formal order.
$1.9M
The FTC alleged that Premier Franchising Group LLC and Franchise Fastlane LLC made deceptive and unsubstantiated claims about the Premier Martial Arts franchise opportunity and violated the Franchise Rule. The proposed settlements require the companies to pay a combined $1.85 million to compensate franchisees, prohibit certain misrepresentations, and require Franchise Rule compliance; certain franchisees may also cancel their agreements without penalty.
The FTC, Utah, and Nevada sued Lens.com Inc., alleging that it advertised artificially low contact lens prices while hiding mandatory checkout charges and misleading consumers about its AutoRefill subscription. The complaint seeks to stop the alleged practices; the court has not yet decided the case, and no penalty or remedy has been imposed.