DirecTV has been charged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for misleading customers. The advertising in question was DirecTV’s 12-month discount package. The plan was advertised as costing only $19.95, but obscured from customers was the fact that a 2-year contract was needed to get deal. Even more astounding is that the FTC alleges that DirecTV charged customers for premium channels after a 3-month trial period, and DirecTV never told customers that they needed to cancel these channels in order to avoid being charged automatically.
Category Archives: Fraud
Thousands of U.S. workers older than 100? That might be Social Security fraud.
Thousands of workers over the age of 100 applied for employment verification through the U.S. government in recent years.
It wasn’t a trend toward an older workforce, but a sign of identity fraud, according to federal auditors.
A recent watchdog review found that at least 6.5 million active Social Security numbers belong to people who are at least 112 years old and likely deceased.
But only 35 known living individuals worldwide had reached that age as of October 2013, according to the Gerontology Research Group.
FEMA: Evidence of fraud in Hurricane Sandy reports
Thousands of people who have been denied flood insurance claims for homes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy have been crying fraud. Now, the executive in charge of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s insurance program tells 60 Minutes he has seen evidence of fraud in reports used to deny them full insurance payouts. The executive, Brad Kieserman, FEMA Deputy Associate Administrator for Insurance, also tells correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi he has seen evidence of the use of unlicensed engineers for flood damage reports, another criminal act. What’s more, he says FEMA has been aware of this evidence for more than a year. Kieserman speaks to Alfonsi for a 60 Minutes investigation into how fraud may have been the reason thousands of homeowners’ claims were denied. Her report will be broadcast Sunday, March 1 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Call From the I.R.S.? Hang Up. It’s a Fraud.
A spate of fraudulent state income tax returns filed using TurboTax’s online software has unnerved consumers this filing season. But con artists also continue to use more traditional means to try to separate taxpayers from their money, like harassing them on the telephone.
The Internal Revenue Service has posted repeated warnings about tax phone frauds, in which criminals call consumers pretending to be agents from the I.R.S. The impostors claim the taxpayer owes back taxes, then threaten arrest or legal action, unless the individual makes a payment quickly. Sometimes victims are urged to wire money, but more commonly they are directed to obtain a prepaid money card at a retailer and provide the number to the caller.
Whistleblower Hearing Traces Corruption and Retaliation Back to Director’s Door
WASHINGTON, DC, February 25, 2015 –/WORLD-WIRE/– An explosive whistleblower hearing transcript paints a vivid picture of rampant scientific misconduct, callous reprisal and systemic mendacity within the upper echelons of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) which posted the full texts today. The transcript also illustrates how a highly-touted agency Scientific Integrity Policy has become a tool for just the opposite.
This whistleblower case is striking because it involves a high-level manager rather than a field biologist; Gary Mowad is a 28-year FWS veteran and former Deputy Director for law enforcement. For the past few years, Mowad had been the FWS Texas Administrator for the Ecological Services Division, handling a parade of thorny endangered species and natural resource issues arising out of the Lone Star State.
Menendez and Booker seek N.J. probe of Hurricane Sandy insurance fraud
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker have asked the New Jersey attorney general’s office to investigate whether insurers were purposely underestimating Hurricane Sandy damages suffered by homeowners.
The two senators, in a letter to Acting Attorney General John Hoffman, said they were concerned that insurance companies had been rewriting engineering reports to avoid payments by claiming that damage was caused by factors other than the hurricane.
Sheldon Silver Is Indicted on Fraud and Extortion Charges
A federal grand jury in Manhattan voted on Thursday morning to indict AssemblymanSheldon Silver on the fraud and extortion charges that were the basis of his arrest last month, and led to his ouster as speaker of the State Assembly.
Columnist resigns over Telegraph’s ‘fraud’
The former chief political commentator for the UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph has resigned after claiming to have discovered that advertisers held immense power over the newspaper’s editorial division.
Peter Oborne, who had been with the Telegraph for five years, wrote a lengthy and blistering post on OpenDemocracy.net on Tuesday accusing the newspaper of committing “fraud” on its readers for not properly covering newsworthy events that involved their advertisers, such as the bank HSBC or the government of China.
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Lance Armstrong loses $10 million in fraud lawsuit
AUSTIN, Texas — A three-man arbitration panel has ordered Lance Armstrong and Tailwind Sports to pay $10 million in a fraud dispute with a promotions company.
Dallas-based SCA Promotions announced the 2-1 ruling against the former cyclist on Monday when it asked a Texas state court to confirm the arbitration decision.
Unemployment fraud: State seeks no criminal charges in 99.8% of cases
PORT WASHINGTON (WITI) — The economy is improving, businesses are expanding and unemployment is the lowest it’s been since 2008. So why are thousands of people with jobs still claiming they’re jobless? It is a common form of fraud, but what’s far less common is jail time for those caught ripping off the unemployment system. A FOX6 investigation finds the state did not seek criminal charges against tens of thousands of people suspected of filing false claims.