Banking regulators admitted the Independent Foreclosure Review was a big expensive mess and shut it down. But many details about the $8.5 billion settlement that replaces it remain murky. (David McNew/Getty Images) Written by Paul…
Thousands of foreclosure victims from 2009 and 2010 will receive anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to $125,000 in compensation as the result of large banks settling charges of foreclosure abuses, including filing false…
FTC Strengthens Kids’ Privacy, Gives Parents Greater Control Over Their Information By Amending Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule Rule Being Modified to Keep Up with Changing Technology The Federal Trade Commission adopted final amendments to…
FTC Settlement Puts an End to “History Sniffing” by Online Advertising Network Charged With Deceptively Gathering Data on Consumers Network Tracked Interest in Sensitive Medical and Financial Issues, Agency Says An online advertising company agreed…
Written by Colleen Shaddox Connecticut is using a shrinking pool of federal funding for HIV/AIDS prevention to focus on getting more people into treatment, particularly men whose sexual activity puts them at risk. New HIV/AIDS…
The Federal Trade Commission has warned 22 hotel operators that their online reservation sites may violate the law by providing a deceptively low estimate of what consumers can expect to pay for their hotel rooms….
A Transportation Security Administration officer looks at a simulated image from a backscatter machine at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Neb., in June 2010. The TSA removed the X-ray body scanners from major airports, planning to…
Written by Lisa Chedekel The state will receive $1.6 million as part of a $90 million multi-state settlement with the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to resolve allegations that the company unlawfully promoted its diabetes drug, Avandia….
Field records from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, needed to document combat injuries, disability claims and the simple history of both wars, were never kept, were destroyed or simply cannot be found, a ProPublica-Seattle…
by Paul Kiel Rebecca Mairone, then at Bank of America, testifies to the Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2010. Mairone now heads JPMorgan Chase’s involvement in the Independent Foreclosure…
Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman today unveiled a new state website created to give military veterans one-stop access to the wide range of veterans’ services and benefits offered by the state…
(Image: The Associated Press) by Paul Kiel The Obama administration launched its main program to prevent foreclosures in the spring of 2009 with $50 billion and abundant promises. What the Home Affordable Modification Program, or…
If you purchased “Wal-Born” – a Walgreens’ brand dietary supplement, the Federal Trade Commission wants you to know that you may be eligible for a refund. National pharmacy chain Walgreens agreed to pay nearly $6…
Sherwin-Williams and PPG Settle FTC Charges That They Misled Consumers to Believe Their Paints Were Free of Potentially Harmful Volatile Organic Compounds Two of the nation’s leading paint companies, The Sherwin-Williams Company and PPG Architectural…
(File, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) by Paul Kiel The idea behind the Independent Foreclosure Review seems simple. During the peak of the foreclosure crisis, the banks broke laws and made errors that hurt homeowners. In response,…
Foreclosure Crisis Banks and Government Fail Homeowners (File photo, Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images) Written by Paul Kiel Late last year, the country’s bank regulators launched a massive program to evaluate millions of foreclosure cases and compensate…
FTC Acts to Halt Medical Plan Scheme that Targeted Vulnerable Consumers IAB Scheme Allegedly Bilked Millions of Dollars from Consumers Seeking Health Insurance The Federal Trade Commission charged a telemarketing operation with bilking millions of…
In Separate Actions, Equifax and Its Customers Will Pay a Total of $1.6 Million One of the largest U.S. consumer reporting agencies, Equifax Information Services LLC, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that…
No Income? No Problem! Steve Lance put both his sons through college by taking out federal Parent Plus loans. Like many parents, he’s now deeply in debt. (Mark Abramson for The Chronicle) By Marian Wang,…
Tens of Thousands of Consumers Allegedly Tricked Into Paying for Removal of Bogus Viruses and Non-Existent Spyware, and Allowing Scammers to Remotely Access their Computers The Federal Trade Commission has launched a major international crackdown…