There are about 200 fewer adulterated dietary supplements on the market today after a district court ordered an Iowa company and its owners to stop production of products over allegations the company sold potentially unsafe dietary supplements and falsely advertised them as treatments for diseases ranging from colds to cancer. [More]
department of justice
Court Shuts Down Iowa Supplement Company Distribution Over Misbranding, Unfounded Safety Promises
By 8.17.15
Consumers Have Filed 75 Antitrust Lawsuits Against Delta, American, United & Southwest Airlines Since July
By 8.13.15
Shortly after the Department of Justice announced in early July that it had opened an investigation into alleged collusion between major airlines to keep ticket prices high two groups of passengers filed lawsuits against the major U.S. carriers. Since then, the legal system has been inundated with strikingly similar complaints from travelers. [More]
Man Charged With Operating American Dream Scheme Sentenced To Jail, Must Refund $6.4M
By 8.12.15
A man who helped perpetrate a scam that promised consumers they could obtain the “American Dream” by selling coffee and greeting cards at retail establishments across the country will spend 70 months in jail and must repay $6.4 million to victims. [More]
Carnival Must Upgrade Ships, Pay $350K After Disability Violations
By 7.23.15
Ships operated by the world’s largest cruise provider are about to become more easily accessible for passengers with disabilities, as Carnival Corp. and the Department of Justice reached an agreement to resolve an investigation into complaints that the cruise line failed to adequately provide accommodations for those with disabilities. [More]
Sen. Al Franken Calls For Federal Investigation Into Apple Music
By 7.23.15
In response to concerns arising from the recent launch of Apple Music, U.S. Senator Al Franken called on both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the possibility that the tech giant may be creating an anticompetitive environment in the streaming music market. [More]
Senator Calls For Federal Investigation Into Airline Prices, Data Withholding
By 7.20.15
When looking to book a flight, many consumers find it easier to peruse third-party comparison sites such as Kayak, Orbitz or Expedia where airfare can be easily compared among different airlines. While airlines have had their share of issues with sites that often lead to some fares disappearing, one legislator is calling for a federal investigation over allegations that some carriers completely withhold information from such travel sites in an attempt to block passengers from finding the best price possible. [More]
Delta, American, United & Southwest Face Passenger Lawsuits Over Alleged Collusion For Higher Airfares
By 7.7.15
Following news that the Department of Justice opened an investigation into alleged collusion between major airlines to keep ticket prices high, it was only a matter of time before consumers began filing lawsuit against the major U.S. carriers. [More]
Dept. Of Justice Investigating Alleged Collusion By Airlines To Keep Ticket Prices High
By 7.1.15
Just weeks after a legislator voiced concern that a shrinking airline industry has perpetuated potential anti-competitive behavior aimed at keeping the price of airfare high, the Department of Justice revealed it is looking into the possibility of collusion between airlines.
[More]
Report: AT&T, DirecTV Merger Likely To Be Approved By Justice Dept. With No Conditions
By 7.1.15
It’s been over a year since AT&T and DirecTV publicly announced their intention to become one big happy mega-media company, and the two are clearly getting a little restless waiting for their approvals. However, it looks like they are about to get the green light they so badly want. [More]
Senator Calls For Investigation Into Alleged Anti-Competitive Airline Behavior
By 6.19.15
American Airlines and US Airways, Southwest Airlines and AirTran, Continental and United. These are just a few of the major mergers to hit the airline industry in the last several decades. While airlines contend that such combinations have created more streamlined processes for customers, some legislators are concerned that a shrinking airline industry has perpetrated potential anti-competitive behavior, leading to a request for a federal investigation. [More]
AMC, Regal Theater Chains Targeted In Antitrust Inquiry
By 6.2.15
Exclusive agreements between large movie theater chains and film studios that are effectively used to prevent independent rivals from showing certain films have caught the watchful eye of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, with investigators now requesting information about the increasingly popular tactic from two of the nation’s largest cinema operators, AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment. [More]
Why Charter Thinks Their Plan To Buy TWC Is Different Enough To Succeed Where Comcast Failed
By 5.26.15
After months of rumors, this morning it became official: Charter plans to step in where Comcast failed, with a $55 billion plan to acquire Time Warner Cable. Regulators looked unfavorably on Comcast’s bid, finding it would have too many negative effects on consumers and on competition. But Charter clearly would not be trying its own takeover, with such a huge price tag, if they didn’t think they stood a good chance of success. So what makes the second offer so different from the first — and is it any more likely to succeed? [More]
Senators Call For Attorney General Investigation Into Executives Of Corinthian Colleges
By 5.6.15
Bankrupt for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges Inc. is already party to a number of state and federal investigations related to the alleged deceptive recruiting practices at its Heald College, WyoTech and Everest University campuses. Now, a group of senators are hoping to add another investigation to the roster. [More]
Black & Decker To Pay $1.57M Penalty For Failing To Report Defects Of Lawnmower That Started On Its Own
By 5.1.15
Under federal law, manufacturers, distributors and retailers are required to immediately report information regarding possible safety defects to the Consumer Product Safety Commission within 24 hours of obtaining reasonable supporting evidence. That 24-hour window allegedly turned into 11 years for Black & Decker and now the company must pay a nearly $1.6 million fine for failing report safety issues related to an electric lawnmower that started spontaneously, injuring at least two consumers. [More]
There Are Two Things That Could Stop The Comcast/TWC Merger, And We Might Get Both
By 4.23.15
Update: Comcast is reportedly planning to back out from the merger deal as early as tomorrow in the face of the likely opposition from both the FCC and Justice Department. [More]
Morgan Stanley To Pay $2.6B To Settle Charges Of Selling Troubled Mortgages Leading Up To The Financial Crisis
By 2.26.15
The Department of Justice has struck a multi-billion dollar deal with Morgan Stanley in what is expected to be one of the last major steps in resolving investigations related to banks’ roles in the subprime mortgage crisis. [More]
Justice Dept. Digging Deep “In The Weeds” Of Broadband Issues In Comcast/TWC Merger
By 10.20.14
Comcast and Time Warner Cable have been making the case for their merger nearly all year. The two companies talk up their TV programming sides a lot, but most watchers know that the merger — and the future — are really all about broadband, and that market is what Comcast is poised to control on a national scale. That potential dominance has worried not only businesses and consumer advocates, but also has apparently attracted the attention of the Justice Department as well. [More]
Consumer Advocates Urge Justice Dept. To Block Comcast/TWC Merger
By 10.2.14
The FCC isn’t the only agency reviewing the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger; the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice is all over it, too. And while the full public doesn’t get to have its riotous say with the DoJ the same way we did with the FCC, businesses and consumer advocates can file in opposition (or support). Our colleagues down the hall at Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, have now officially chimed in to ask the DoJ to watch out for the interests of consumers, and block the merger. [More]
