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]
justice department
Legal Battle Between American Express & DOJ Could Change Credit Card Purchases As We Know Them
By 7.7.14
A four-year battle between American Express and the Justice Department comes to a head today in court, and the outcome could bring significant changes to the credit card industry. [More]
U.S. Prosecutors Pursue Criminal, Civil Probes Against 15 Banks, Payment Processors
By 5.29.14
Government regulators create laws and initiate investigations in order to protect consumers from an array of hurtful products and companies. One such consumer fraud investigation by the Justice Department is “Operation Choke Point” and it’s resulted in criminal and civil probes by U.S. prosecutors. But some legislators see the investigation as more hurtful than helpful. [More]
In Spite Of Evidence To Contrary, AG Holder Claims “Too Big To Jail” Is A Myth
By 5.6.14
Is Attorney General Eric Holder all talk and no action? For the second time this year Holder has made it clear that the Justice Department does not believe that any corporation or executive is too big to jail. But an abundance of fines and a lack of actual prosecutions is enough to make one wonder if the declarations are just for show. [More]
Bank Of America Could End Investigations Into Its Troubled Mortgage Investments For $20B
By 4.25.14
There’s another new chapter being written in the ongoing saga known as the financial crisis. The Justice Department is aiming to make a deal, in the area of $20 billion, with Bank of America for the company’s part in selling troubled mortgage investments. But resolution doesn’t look to be happening anytime soon. [More]
Feds Charge 18 People With Ringing Up $200 Million In Fraudulent Credit Card Charges
By 2.5.13
Credit card fraud is nothing new — identity theft is common enough — but managing to make up enough identities to steal $200 million from credit card companies? That’s a staggering feat, and yet 18 people managed to pull it off. At least, until the U.S. Department of Justice managed to crack the case. [More]
Justice Department Investigates Standard & Poor's Mortgage Security Ratings
By 8.18.11
Standard & Poor’s may be have a downgrade of sorts in store for itself, now that the credit ratings agency is the target of a Justice Department investigation into its ratings of mortgage companies before the financial crisis. [More]
Justice Department Says North Carolina Fails At Caring For Mentally Ill
By 8.15.11
According to gripes from the U.S. Department of Justice, the state of North Carolina is mishandling mental health patients, violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide adequate housing. The DOJ may sue the state and force 1,200 mental health patients out of adult care homes — inadequate facilities which it says are operating as mental health care facilities. [More]
College Football Bowl System Apparently Warrants DOJ's Attention
By 5.4.11
Because antitrust investigators at the Justice Department made such quick work of their investigations into the United/Continental and NBC/Universal mergers, they apparently have plenty of free time to wonder why there are no playoffs in the Bowl Championship Series. [More]
Worst Company Winner BP Commits Up To $1 Billion To Speed Up Gulf Restoration
By 4.21.11
A day after the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 offshore rig workers, released millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and earned BP the title of Worst Company In America, the Golden Poo winners announced that it has reached an agreement to pony up another $1 billion toward Gulf restoration efforts. [More]
U.S. Investigating Morgan Stanley Subsidiary For Unlawfully Foreclosing On Military Families
By 3.14.11
A Morgan Stanley unit is under investigation by the Justice Department for foreclosing on nearly two dozen military families without a court hearing, a violation of Federal law meant to protect active duty service members. [More]
21 Airlines Fined $1.7 Billion In Price-Fixing Scheme
By 3.11.11
The Justice Department has fined 21 airlines in a massive global price-fixing scheme. British Airways, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic were among the airlines indicted. Even four executives have gone to jail. What did they do? The JD charges that the airlines colluded to artificially inflate fuel surcharges for passengers industry-wide, as well as cargo surcharges. The case probably wouldn’t have been broken if Luthansa and Virgin Atlantic hadn’t come forward and confessed under the Justice Department’s amnesty program that provides leniency for finking. In an interesting turn, the scheme was so codified that various airlines had entire committees and sub-committees devoted to managing it. [More]
Justice Dept. Goes After Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan
By 10.18.10
Crimefighters at the Justice Department put on their antitrust capes today, filing a lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The DOJ alleges the insurance company violated antitrust laws by asking hospitals to sign contracts that precluded other insurers from offering a better discount. [More]
Amex Slapped With Antitrust Suit, Visa & Mastercard Settle
By 10.4.10
The Justice Department sued Amex today, saying that the restrictions it places on merchants were anti-competitive. According to the complaint, the rules “impede merchants from promoting or encouraging the use of a competing credit or charge card with lower card acceptance fees.” [More]
Fee For Paying With Plastic? Decision Nears
By 10.4.10
The US Justice Department is said to be close to a decision on whether credit card companies can continue to forbid merchants from charging extra to customers who use credit cards to cover the cost of the credit card processing fees (usually 1-5% of the price). [More]
Government Investigating Apple On Music Practices
By 5.26.10
The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Apple, to determine whether the company used its position as the nation’s largest music retailer to unfairly influence music labels. Apple allegedly told labels not to offer exclusives to Amazon.com, and punished those that didn’t comply by dropping marketing support on iTunes. [More]
Should Google Be Broken Apart?
By 4.20.10
The consumer group Consumer Watchdog is planning to ask the Justice Department to “launch an antitrust action against the search giant and seek remedies including a possible break up,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The group will host a press conference in Washington, D.C. tomorrow where it will argue that there’s enough evidence to warrant antitrust action from the feds. [More]
Justice Department Takes Aim At Mean Commenters
Attention mean commenters: watch what you say or the Justice Department will hunt you down. Seriously! The U.S. Attorney in Nevada subpoenaed the Las Vegas Review-Journal to reveal the identities of two anonymous commenters whose statements could be read as mildly threatening to jurors involved in a tax case, if you’ve never read internet comments before.