The FTC uses compulsory process to obtain information for its investigations and studies. “Compulsory process†refers to various types of information or document requests—including but not limited to subpoenas, civil investigative demands, and orders for special reports—where the recipient of the request may be compelled to comply with the request by order of court.
When a process recipient fails to comply satisfactorily with the Commission’s process, the Commission may start process enforcement proceedings to obtain such orders of court. This page collects process enforcement cases and key documents relating to each case from 2008 to the present.
Deltracon, Inc., FTC v.
In February 2022, at the request of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission, federal courts in California ordered two Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers, Xcast and Deltracon, to turn over information that the agency is seeking as part of ongoing investigations into potentially illegal robocalls. Companies that fail to comply with such federal court orders can be held in contempt.
XCast Labs, Inc., FTC v.
In February 2022, at the request of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission, federal courts in California ordered two Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers, Xcast and Deltracon, to turn over information that the agency is seeking as part of ongoing investigations into potentially illegal robocalls. Companies that fail to comply with such federal court orders can be held in contempt.
ITMedia Solutions LLC
A lead generation company that collected sensitive information from millions of consumers under the guise of connecting them with lenders will pay $1.5 million in civil penalties and face restrictions on their operations as a result of a Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission lawsuit.
The FTC’s complaint alleges that since at least 2012, ITMedia Solutions LLC, a number of affiliate companies, and their owners and officers have operated hundreds of websites that were designed to entice consumers into sharing their most sensitive financial information—including their Social Security numbers and bank account information. The defendants sold that information to marketing companies and others without regard for how the information would be used, according to the complaint.
Nexway, Inc.
Complete Merchant Solutions, LLC
Complete Merchant Solutions, LLC (CMS) and its former CEO, Jack Wilson, have settled Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission charges that they illegally processed millions of dollars in consumer credit card payments for fraudulent schemes when they knew or should have known that the schemes were defrauding consumers. Those schemes included Apply Knowledge and Tarr, which were ultimately shut down by an FTC enforcement action, and , which was shut down following an enforcement action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Kushly, LLC
In May 2021, The FTC announced a law enforcement action to halt deceptive health and efficacy claims in the growing market for cannabidiol (CBD) products. In the action—the first since the Commission announced a crackdown on such false claims last December—Scottsdale, Arizona-based Kushly Industries LLC (Kushly) and the company’s sole officer Cody Alt agreed not to make false or unsupported claims or falsely claim that scientific evidence exists to back them up. They also paid the FTC more than $30,000 in consumer redress.