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At the Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission’s request, a federal court has temporarily halted an operation that allegedly used an intricate web of concealment to debit hundreds of thousands of consumers’ bank accounts and bill their credit cards more than $25 million without their consent. The court also froze the defendants’ assets and appointed a to control the business pending trial.

According to the FTC’s complaint, the Ideal Financial Solutions defendants targeted financially vulnerable consumers who had never come in contact with them, and without authorization debited their bank accounts and charged their credit cards, usually for about $30. Those who disputed the charges were told they had purchased something, such as financial counseling or loan matching services, or assistance in completing a payday loan application. How the defendants got the consumers’ financial information is not known, but some consumers had recently applied for payday loans via the Internet, and entities that receive payday loan applications often sell the information to other parties.

The complaint alleged that, to avoid detection, the defendants created dozens of shell companies to open merchant accounts with payment processors that enable merchants to get customers’ money via electronic banking; the processors receive a fee for each transaction they handle. The defendants also allegedly registered more than 230 Internet domain names, often using identity-hiding services and auto-forward features.

As alleged in the complaint, debits and charges appeared on consumers’ bank and credit card statements with a telephone number and the name of one of more than 50 billing campaigns the defendants ran, each with multiple mail drops and addresses, including Debt2Wealth, Funding Assurance, and Avanix. Many consumers did not notice the debits and charges, which often caused them to incur bank penalty fees or overdraft charges due to insufficient funds.  Others complained to their banks and often had the charges reversed, which was reflected in very high return rates – the rate of transactions rejected and returned by consumers or their banks.

Due to the high return rates, some payment processors terminated the defendants’ merchant accounts, and a Visa investigation led one payment processor to drop at least one merchant, according to the FTC. To avoid losing merchant accounts due to high return rates, the defendants allegedly took multiple unauthorized debits of a few pennies each, and then immediately refunded them before making a larger debit of about $30. By doing so, they inflated their total number of debits and reduced their return rate.

To handle the tens of thousands of complaints they received from consumers, the defendants set up a call center in St. George, Utah, and hired a company with call centers in the U.S., the Philippines, and El Salvador. When consumers asked how the defendants got their account numbers, call center agents were unable or unwilling to tell them. In one instance, an agent said, “l would like to make it clear that we do not have a copy of your application [for a payday loan or other services], but the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and information that was submitted, in your name, as an application.”

The defendants named in the complaint are Ideal Financial Solutions Inc., Ascot Crossing LLC, Bracknell Shore Ltd., Chandon Group LLC, Avanix LLC, Fiscal Fitness LLC, Steven Sunyich, Michael Sunyich, Christopher Sunyich, Shawn Sunyich, Melissa Sunyich Gardner, and Kent Brown.

The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the complaint was 5-0. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. On February 14, 2013, the court halted the operation pending trial.

The FTC appreciates the assistance of the Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection and the Arkansas Attorney General Office’s Consumer Protection Division in bringing this case.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law. The case will be decided by the court.

The Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides . Like the FTC on , follow us on , and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.