Top Story Compliance Related

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that Care.com, Inc., has agreed to a settlement of FTC claims that the child and older adult care gig platform has systematically deceived caregivers who were looking for jobs while failing to give families seeking care a simple way to cancel their paid memberships.

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Care.com's marketing messages about both the number of jobs available on their site and the amount workers could expect to be paid were deceptive. The complaint also alleges that Care has used a number of unlawful tactics, sometimes referred to as dark patterns, to prevent consumers – both job posters and job seekers – from being able to cancel their subscriptions. When consumers try to cancel Care subscriptions, they must click through a number of unrelated links to find information about how to cancel. According to the lawsuit, consumers regularly complained about difficulties in finding the cancellation options, with many resorting to searching online for instructions on how to cancel.

Under the proposed settlement, Care.com must turn over $8.5 million to be used to refund consumers harmed by their practices, as well as requiring the company to be able to back up the earnings claims it makes and be honest about the number of jobs available on their site. They must also provide users with a simple cancellation method for any negative option subscriptions available on their website.

Yesterday, FinCEN issued a press release reminding financial institutions to monitor for and report suspicious transactional activity related to the illicit fentanyl supply chain and the trafficking of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

FinCEN has previously published resources on the trafficking of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other synthetic opioids and the precursor chemicals and associated manufacturing equipment needed to synthesize these deadly drugs:

• Supplemental Advisory on the Procurement of Precursor Chemicals and Manufacturing Equipment Used for the Synthesis of Illicit Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids (June 2024)
• Advisory to Financial Institutions on Illicit Financial Schemes and Methods Related to the Trafficking of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids (August 2019)

On Friday, the Department of the Treasury announced that OFAC and the State Department targeted nearly 400 individuals and entities both in Russia and outside its borders—including in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East—whose products and services enable Russia to sustain its war effort and evade sanctions. The United States government will continue to support Ukraine as it defends its independence and hold Russia accountable for its aggression.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties and vessels, see this August 23, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The CFPB has released a Filing Instruction Guide (FIG) for covered nonbanks subject to the CFPB's Registry of Nonbank Covered Persons Subject to Certain Agency and Court Orders Final Rule (also referred to as the NBR Orders Rule) (12 CFR Part 1092, effective September 16, 2024), which establishes a nonbank registry of certain nonbanks with public agency and court orders. The CFPB also issued a sample registration form and instructions for viewing Regulatory Actions in NMLS.

The FIG, sample registration form, and other Nonbank Registration resources can be found on the Bureau's Nonbank Registry portal and public database webpage.

The CFPB reports it has ordered Fay Servicing LLC to pay a $2 million penalty for violations of mortgage servicing laws, as well as for violations of a 2017 agency order that addressed its illegal foreclosure practices. The company failed to implement the order’s requirements and continued to break the law. Fay Servicing took prohibited foreclosure actions against borrowers requesting mortgage assistance, failed to offer borrowers mortgage assistance options available to them, and overcharged for private mortgage insurance. In addition to the civil money penalty, the CFPB’s order requires Fay Servicing to pay consumer redress of $3 million and to invest $2 million to update its servicing technology and compliance management systems. The order also puts compensation limits on Edward Fay, the company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), if Mr. Fay does not take actions necessary to ensure compliance with the order.

In 2017, the CFPB took action against Fay Servicing for failing to provide mortgage borrowers with the protections against foreclosure that are required by consumer financial protection law. The CFPB found that the company kept borrowers in the dark about critical information about the process of applying for foreclosure relief. The CFPB also found instances where the servicer illegally launched or moved forward with the foreclosure process when borrowers were actively seeking help to save their homes. The CFPB ordered Fay Servicing to stop its illegal practices and to pay $1.15 million to harmed borrowers.

OFAC has announced efforts to modernize its infrastructure and approaches to engaging with stakeholders to ensure sanctions are easily understood and enforceable — a key recommendation highlighted in Treasury’s 2021 Sanctions Review that OFAC is working to implement.

To ensure that its guidance remains up to date and relevant for the public, OFAC is updating many of its FAQs on general sanctions questions and issues. These FAQs are often OFAC's most viewed guidance, as they deal with basic principles of sanctions implementation. The first installment of updated FAQs is available now (FAQs 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 91, 126, 468, and 469) and includes guidance on key topics such as what OFAC means by “blocked property” and how to verify the authenticity of an OFAC document.

OFAC will continue reviewing FAQs through an ongoing process focused on providing up-to-date and useful information to the public. OFAC will announce subsequent FAQ updates via its Recent Actions Notices.

The IRS has issued interim guidance for sponsors of 401(k) and similar retirement plans that provide, or wish to provide, matching contributions based on eligible student loan payments made by their participating employees.

Notice 2024-63 implements section 110 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, which for the first time permits employers to provide matching contributions for employees based on their payments on student loans. The 2022 legislation permits employers with a 401(k) plan, 403(b) plan, governmental 457(b) plan or SIMPLE IRA plan to provide matching contributions based on student loan payments, rather than based only on elective contributions to retirement plans, in plan years beginning after December 31, 2023.

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission reported it had filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit brought by a group of parents who are suing IXL Learning, Inc. The FTC’s brief disputes the company’s argument that under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the COPPA Rule, the schools’ agreement to binding arbitration also applied to parents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced charges against Carl C. Icahn and his publicly traded company, Icahn Enterprises L.P. (IEP), for failing to disclose information relating to Icahn’s pledges of IEP securities as collateral to secure personal margin loans worth billions of dollars under agreements with various lenders. IEP and Icahn agreed to pay $1.5 million and $500,000 in civil penalties, respectively, to settle the SEC’s charges.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced it is taking action against a large automotive dealer group, Asbury Automotive, for systematically charging consumers for costly add-on items they did not agree to or were falsely told were required as part of their purchase. The FTC also alleges that Asbury discriminates against Black and Latino consumers, targeting them with unwanted and higher-priced add-ons.

In an administrative complaint, the FTC alleges that three Texas dealerships owned by Asbury that operate as David McDavid Ford Ft. Worth, David McDavid Honda Frisco, and David McDavid Honda Irving, along with Ali Benli, who acted as general manager of those dealerships, engaged in a variety of practices to sneak hidden fees for unwanted add-ons past consumers. These tactics included a practice called “payment packing,” where the dealerships convinced consumers to agree to monthly payments that were larger than needed to pay for the agreed-upon price of the car, and then “packed” add-on items to the sales contract to make up that difference.

While some consumers reported that salespeople never discussed these products during the sales process, others said that they specifically declined these products only to find they were added on without consent. The FTC says that Asbury’s sales and financing process made it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to know they were being charged for these add-ons, with consumers being asked to sign documents on electronic devices that showed only the places where they should sign and not the full documents. In other cases, consumers who noticed the add-on charges were falsely told they were mandatory.

In addition, according to the complaint, company documents show that the dealerships treated Black and Latino consumers differently from non-Latino White consumers, charging them hundreds of dollars extra on average for add-ons – including those add-ons for which they were charged without consent. The complaint alleges that there was no non-discriminatory reason for these higher costs.

The Commission issues an administrative 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 issuance of the administrative complaint marks the beginning of a proceeding in which the allegations will be tried in a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.