consumer-fraud-blog

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia sent 202,000 explanation of benefits letters to the wrong addresses last week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, putting these customers at risk for identity theft in many cases.
The letters, which were mistakenly directed to the addresses of other policyholders, included names and insurance identification numbers of patients […]

If a company sends you a check for a couple of bucks, for no reason at all, don’t think they’re just being generous, the folks at Consumer Affairs warn. Cash the check, and you could find yourself signed up for a service you don’t really want.
The state of Oregon has filed a civil racketeering lawsuit […]

The state of New York is penalizing an insurance broker who targeted seniors across the state by selling overlapping home health services policies they did not need, Consumer Affairs reports. The order issued by Justice Diane Y. Devlin requires insurance broker Thomas Piccirillo of Auburn, N.Y., to pay $500,000 in restitution to seniors he defrauded, […]

Although his lawyer insists he was framed, once-feared Haitian paramilitary leader has been convicted in a New York mortgage fraud scheme to cheat lenders out of $1.7 million. A Brooklyn jury found Emmanuel “Toto” Constant guilty on Friday of fraud and grand larceny. He faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced […]

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo says that a Nassau County auto dealer will pay consumers for persistently using misleading promotions intended to lure them into the dealership. The consumers, once baited into the dealership, were also subject to other fraudulent and unfair sales practices, Cuomo charged. Consumer Affairs reports that Five Towns Mitsubishi […]

Should consumers trust the Midas touch? Apparently not in California. Twenty-two Midas Auto Services franchises in the Bay Area and Central Valley have been found routinely billing customers for unnecessary services and undelivered parts, according to state officials.
Glenn Mason, a spokesman for the state Department of Consumer Affairs, said undercover agents spent three years investigating […]

A Madison County, Illinois court has granted final approval of a nationwide class action lawsuit against Trilegiant Corporation, providing up to $25 million in cash benefits, along with changes in Trilegiant’s business practices, Consumer Affairs reports. This settlement resolves nationwide litigation against Trilegiant for allegedly billing and collecting unauthorized charges from consumers for products or […]

After more than 70 formal auction rate fraud complaints were filed with the Missouri Securities Division over the last four months, representing more than $40 million of frozen investments, officials from Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s securities division on Thursday raided the headquarters of Wachovia Securities, formerly A.G. Edwards, in downtown St. Louis, the St. […]

The Federal Reserve Board adopted new rules applying to mortgage lenders, specifically.
In announcing the rules, the Reserve Board admitted that predatory or misleading lenders is not the sole reason for the mortgage crisis, but is responsible for too many loans in the hands of people who can’t pay them, and were misled to believe they […]

New Jersey is suing a state pool company for violating consumer fraud and home improvement laws.
The Daily Journal, covering Vineland, N.J., reports that Castaway Pools and Spas promised to install pools or spas within days of purchase for customers but instead let the work go for weeks or months. And in some cases, the work […]