Penalty Amount
$1,000,000
Consumers Affected
46,204
Harris Jewelry defrauded servicemembers with deceptive marketing, inflated prices, and hidden fees. A multistate settlement requires $34.2 million in refunds and debt relief, stops debt collection, and dissolves the business, affecting over 46,000 servicemembers.
Harris Jewelry must pay $1 million to states, stop collecting $21.3 million in debt, provide $12.9 million in refunds for protection plans, vacate judgments, delete negative credit entries, and dissolve all businesses. An independent monitor will oversee the relief process.
In-house legal teams should scrutinize customer financing agreements, warranty sales contracts, and any third-party financing partner agreements for clauses that permit deceptive marketing representations (e.g., false promises of credit improvement or charitable ties), ambiguous pricing structures that enable inflation, and hidden fee disclosures. Specific attention must be paid to compliance with the Military Lending Act, including APR caps and clear disclosure requirements for servicemember borrowers. Contracts may require amendments to add unambiguous, prominent disclosures about total costs, the non-impact on credit scores from 'investment' programs, and explicit opt-out mechanisms for warranties. Debt collection and credit reporting clauses must be revised to ensure immediate cessation of collection efforts and mandatory credit score correction processes for affected servicemembers.
Entity
Harris Jewelry
Industry
Retail$34.0M
Connecticut Attorney General announced a $34 million multistate settlement with Harris Jewelry for deceptive marketing and false promises to servicemembers, tricking them into high-interest loans for overpriced jewelry, with refunds and debt relief for affected 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.
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$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.