FTC Unit Aids With Criminal Prosecutions of Scammers

When scammers took in $1.2 million from small businesses and nonprofits, the FTC acted.

Because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is not authorized to bring criminal law enforcement actions, its Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Criminal Liaison Unit (BCP CLU) worked with Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Kopita of the Northern District of New York to prosecute the mastermind of the scam, according to “Criminal Liaison Unit Report 2022,” which was released Monday (Jan. 30).

The scammer — who had falsely told the victims that they owed money for listings in a business directory and harassed them with collection notices if they did not pay — was extradited from Italy, sentenced to five years and eight months, and ordered to pay restitution, the report said.

That case is one example of the accomplishments of the BCP CLU, which was established by the FTC in 2002 to help prosecutors bring cases against the “worst of the worst” offenders in consumer fraud and deception cases, the FTC said in a Monday press release announcing the release of the report.

The publication comes at a time when businesses and consumers are being targeted by fraudsters in new ways every day and everywhere.

As PYMNTS said in December, the big takeaway from another recent FTC report was that even digital natives who may be smart and comfortable with remote commerce can be outsmarted by a convincing fake.

During the period covered by the “Criminal Liaison Unit Report 2022,” which spans 2018 to 2022, the BCP CLU’s referrals led to criminal charges against 107 new defendants, 145 total convictions and 181 defendants sentenced for consumer fraud. In the 20 years since its founding, it has contributed to more than 1,000 successful prosecutions, according to the report.

“For the worst individual and corporate wrongdoers, civil remedies may not be sufficient to protect the public from further harm,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the press release. “Government works best when agencies work together toward a common goal, and we are proud that our partnership with criminal enforcers leads to justice for bad actors and a safer marketplace for us all.”