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fines
Posts Tagged “
justice
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fines
justice
Tax Runner Wesley Snipes Sentenced To Three Years In The Slammer
Gather round, tax kooks, and listen to the tale of Wesley Snipes. He's the guy who didn't pay his taxes while raking in millions, and then tried to collect $7.4 million in tax refunds. Now he's going to jail for three years thanks to a federal District Judge who doesn't care much for tax protesters and their zany theories. More »
justice
After a multimillion-dollar verdict, attorneys get fee award, too
To add (just) insult to (just) injury, a Florida judge awarded $518,301 to Angela Williams's attorneys (PDF link). Ms. Williams recently won almost $3 million in a lawsuit against Equifax for Equifax's refusal to fix her credit report after her identity was stolen. More »
justice
Consumers Finally Allowed To Speak Out Against Abusive Credit Card Practices
Consumers were finally allowed this week to testify in favor of a proposed Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights without being forced to sign waivers allowing their creditors to release private financial records to the public. The three cardholders who testified lambasted their credit card companies for penalizing them even though they abided by their cardholder agreements. More »
id theft
Leukemia Survivor Settles ID Theft Lawsuit With TransUnion; Five More Companies To Go
When Eric Drew was in the hospital being treated for leukemia five years ago, a lab technician stole his personal information and began opening up credit card accounts in his name. Drew had to fight with credit card and credit reporting companies to prove that he was a victim of identity theft, so he decided to go after them for their negligence and filed lawsuits against TransUnion, Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, Equifax and Experian. His recent settlement with TransUnion means the credit reporting agency will now "allow anyone who is hospitalized or elderly to file a claim of identity theft with a doctor's note, instead of having to provide a formal affidavit; permanently remove fraudulent information from a credit report; and offer a free credit freeze for identity theft victims."More »
justice
"Free iPod" Claims Cost Spammer $2.9 Million
The FTC slammed nuisance advertiser ValueClick with a record-breaking $2.9 million fine for littering the internet with deceptive ads for free iPods, PS3s, and plasma TVs. Instead of providing freebies, ValueClick tricked people into signing up for useless services and then failed to safeguard their personal information. More »
law
Exxon May Have Its Punitive Damages For Valdez Spill Cut In Half By Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is currently considering whether to halve the punitive damages levied against Exxon for its massive 1989 oil spill from the Exxon Valdez tanker, from the current $2.5 billion to something more like $1 billion. Exxon claims the higher number amounts to excessive punishment. According to the New York Times, the decision may come down to a tie with four justices on either side; Justice Alito is not participating because he owns Exxon Mobile stock. The Exxon Valdez disaster "caused a 3,000-square-mile oil slick and still affects Alaska's fisheries after nearly 19 years." More »
convictions
Enzyte's Steve Warshak (And His Mom) Found Guilty!
Hooray! Steve Warshak, the snake oil salesman responsible for Enzyte (and consequently for those awful "Smiling Bob" ads) was found guilty today of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. So was his mom. More »
justice
Librarian Takes Sprint Nextel & Wells-Fargo To Small Claims Court And Wins
Last December, Theodore Karantsalis received a letter from Sprint, where he was a customer, telling him that someone who banks with Wells-Fargo—where he's not a customer—was presented with his invoice and personal data when they logged into their Wells-Fargo Checkfree account. The customer contacted Sprint, and Sprint contacted Karantsalis. Karantsalis decided that he'd deal with the issue on his own instead of bringing a lawyer into it or throwing his hands up in frustration, so he took both companies to small claims court. More »
con artists
Shady Magazine Seller Ordered To Pay Over $7 Million
Kevin Trudeau isn't the only one writhing in the icy grip of justice this week—one-time magazine subscription entrepreneur Richard L. Prochnow was ordered to pay over $7 million a few weeks ago when the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a judgment from July of 2006. Prochnow ran Direct Sales International (DSI), a bad magazine company that lied to customers and trapped them in a "buying club" that charged monthly fees and was very difficult to cancel. More »
con artists
Infomercial Scammer Kevin Trudeau Found In Contempt Of Court
Kevin Trudeau, well known for all sorts of cons over the years—his most recent one was this diet book—was found in contempt of court last week by a U.S. District Court judge for violating his permanent 2004 injunction. More »
cheese
California Police Seize 375 Pounds Of Bathtub Cheese
Meet Floribel Hernandez Cuenca and Manuel Martin. California police arrested the pair on "felony cheese making charges" after they tried to sell 375 pounds of bathtub cheese at an open-air market in San Bernardino. Bathtub cheese, otherwise known as "illegal soft cheese," can cause a range of maladies including listeria, salmonella, and everybody's favorite gut goblin, E. coli.The 375 pounds of seized illegal cheese included panela, queso fresco and queso oxaca varieties, the [California Department of Food and Agriculture] says. It was a significant find, the department says.More »
Judge Kenneth Robertson of Alabama has sentenced more than 20 people to wear signs reading: "I Am A Thief; I Stole From Walmart."
bad consumer
Walmart Evicts Shoplifters Wearing Signs Reading "I Am A Thief I Stole From Walmart"
Convicted shoplifters are no longer welcome at Walmart, even if they wear signs proclaiming: "I am a thief, I stole from Walmart." Walmart was initially gung-ho about the decision to publicly shame the thieves, and even planned to keep the signs for future use. Their dreams of shoplifter shame now lie slightly worn at the return desk after a Walmart attorney told Judge Kenneth Robertson that the shoplifters were persona non grata at Walmart.Robertson said the attorney said WalMart was afraid "that people might try to run [the shoplifters] down or throw something at them.''Walmart does not want blood on their
bad consumer
