Free Consultations & We're Available 24/7
WE'RE A BOUTIQUE LAW FIRM.
TRUST 50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
WE SERVICE CLIENTS NATIONWIDE.
So your probably freaking out right now because the FTC or CFPB just hit you with a Civil Investigative Demand claiming your business practices are “unfair” or “deceptive.” Maybe a competitor reported you. Maybe consumer complaints triggered it. Or maybe your marketing claims caught there attention during there latest enforcement sweep. Look, we get it. Your TERRIFIED. And you should be! Because consumer protection violations can result in millions in penalties and even criminal prosecution!
Let me explain what your dealing with here. A Civil Investigative Demand is basicaly an administrative subpoena on steroids that the FTC and CFPB use to investigate supposed unfair or deceptive business practices. Under Section 20 of the FTC Act, they can demand documents, written answers to questions, and even sworn testimony – all without getting a judge’s permission!
Here’s what’s really scary: they don’t need probable cause or even reasonable suspicion to issue a CID. They just need to be conducting an investigation into possible violations. Your competitors can trigger investigations with anonymous complaints. Consumer reviews can spark investigations. Hell, even your own advertising can trigger a CID if they think its misleading.
The scope is absolutely insane. There gonna demand every marketing document, every customer complaint, every internal email discussing your products or services, all your financial records, communications with vendors and partners. Its designed to be impossibly broad so they can find SOMETHING to hang you with.
This is where it gets really unfair – the definitions are so vague that almost anything can be a violation! “Deceptive” means any representation or omission likely to mislead a reasonable consumer. That includes literaly everything from your website to your customer service scripts!
“Unfair” is even worse – it means causing substantial injury to consumers that they couldn’t reasonably avoid and that isn’t outweighed by benefits. Who decides what’s “substantial”? The government. Who decides what’s “reasonably avoidable”? The government. Who weighs the benefits? You guessed it – the government!
We’ve seen companies get hit for things like: Having terms of service that are “too complicated”, Charging fees that consumers “didn’t expect”, Making claims that are technicaly true but “misleading”, Not disclosing things prominently enough, Using dark patterns in website design. Its a complete joke how broad there interpretation is!
Hold onto your chair because the penalties are absolutely CRUSHING. Civil penalties get adjusted annually for inflation and can reach tens of thousands per violation. But here’s the kicker – each affected consumer can be a seperate violation!
Let us do the terrifying math. Say you have 10,000 customers and the FTC claims your practices were deceptive. That’s 10,000 violations. At $50,000 per violation (which happens), your looking at $500 MILLION in penalties! We’ve seen small businesses completely destroyed by penalties they could never possibly pay.
But wait, it gets worse! They can also demand: Complete disgorgement of all profits from the supposed violations, Restitution to every affected consumer, Permanent injunctions restricting your business practices, Asset freezes that shut down your operations immediately, Appointment of monitors who control your business. And if they find evidence of intent? Criminal prosecution with prison time!
Your probably wondering who’s out to get you. Let me tell you the usual suspects:
Competitors are huge – they file complaints with FTC and CFPB to eliminate competition. We’ve seen companies systematicaly target competitors with false complaints to trigger investigations. Consumer advocacy groups love filing complaints about entire industries. Even one complaint from these groups can trigger massive investigations.
The CFPB has specific enforcement priorities including AI and algorithms, “junk fees”, repeat offenders, and fair lending. If your in any of these areas, your already a target. State attorneys general often coordinate with federal agencies, so one investigation triggers multiple CIDs.
The worst part? You might never know who complained. The agencies protect complainant identities, so you can’t even defend yourself against false accusations!
Technicaly yes, but its really hard. FTC and CFPB have incredibly broad investigative powers and courts rarely limit CIDs. But we can try to negotiate modifications if we can show:
The requests are unduly burdensome (but they don’t care if it costs you millions to comply), The information sought isn’t relevant (but there interpretation of relevance is super broad), The time period is excessive (but they routinely demand 5+ years of records), Trade secrets need protection (but they’ll still demand them with confidentiality provisions).
What really pisses us off is they’ll say “just produce what you have” but then claim you withheld documents if you miss anything. Its a complete trap designed to create more violations!
DO NOT ignore or incompletely respond to a consumer protection CID! Here’s what happens if your stupid enough to try:
The agency will immediately file a petition to enforce in federal district court. The court WILL order compliance – judges basicaly rubber-stamp these petitions. You’ll face contempt charges with daily fines until you comply. The CFPB Director has explicitly warned businesses to “respond in a reasonable and timely manner or face legal consequences.”
Even worse, non-compliance makes them assume your hiding massive fraud. They’ll expand the investigation, increase penalties, and likely refer for criminal prosecution. We had a client who thought he could just produce some documents and ignore the rest – he’s now facing criminal charges for obstruction!
ABSOLUTELY NOT without counsel! These investigators are trained to extract admissions and twist your words. Every conversation becomes evidence against you. We’ve seen business owners try to “explain” there practices and end up confessing to violations they didn’t even know existed.
Here’s what happens in these conversations: You think your clarifying but your actually admitting elements of violations. You provide context that they ignore while keeping the harmful admissions. You identify other areas for them to investigate. You contradict documents creating “false statement” liability.
One client thought he was being helpful explaining his pricing model to FTC investigators. His explanation became Exhibit A in there complaint showing “deceptive pricing practices.” Another client’s attempt to show good faith became evidence of “knowing violations.” Never talk to investigators without experienced counsel!
YES! And its happening more frequently. While FTC and CFPB primarily pursue civil enforcement, they regularly refer cases for criminal prosecution when they find evidence of intent. Mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy charges are common in consumer protection cases.
What triggers criminal referral? Falsifying documents or records, lying to investigators (even unintentionaly), destroying evidence after receiving CID, pattern of deliberate deception, causing substantial consumer harm. We’ve seen marketing executives go to federal prison for claims there company made that they thought were just “puffery.”
The transition from civil to criminal happens fast. One day your negotiating a consent order, the next day FBI agents are raiding your office. We defended a supplement company owner who went from thinking he had a labeling issue to facing 20 years for wire fraud!
Buckle up for a long, expensive nightmare. Consumer protection investigations typically last 18-36 months, but we’ve seen them go 5+ years. During this entire time, your business is paralyzed and your bleeding legal fees.
The timeline usualy looks like this: Initial CID response (30-45 days), Agency review and follow-up demands (3-6 months), Investigational hearings and depositions (6-12 months), Settlement negotiations or complaint drafting (6-12 months), Litigation if you fight (2-4 years). And that’s assuming no criminal referral!
During this time, your business reputation is destroyed. Customers leave. Partners abandon you. Investors run away. Banks won’t lend. We’ve seen thriving businesses become empty shells before the investigation even concludes.
You’ve got three paths, and honestly, they all suck:
Settlement through consent order – You agree to penalties, change your practices, submit to monitoring, and possibly pay restitution. Its expensive and restrictive but avoids litigation.
Fight it in court – Risky because agencies win most cases, and if you lose, penalties are maximum. Plus, litigation costs are astronomical and take years.
Try to get them to close without action – Rare but possible if you can show no violations or the violations are truly minimal. Don’t count on this unless you have amazing facts.
Look, we’re not your typical regulatory lawyers who just shuffle papers. We’re fighters who know how to push back against FTC and CFPB overreach. We understand the agencies’ pressure points, there internal politics, and there settlement authorities.
We know how to frame business practices to avoid “unfair” and “deceptive” findings. We can distinguish between aggressive marketing and actual violations. We know when to cooperate and when to fight. Most importantly, we know how to keep civil investigations from becoming criminal prosecutions.
Other firms will tell you to just roll over and take whatever settlement the agency offers. That’s exactly what they want – easy victories with maximum penalties. We take a different approach. We challenge there interpretations, question there evidence, and make them prove every element of there case.
Every minute counts when you get a consumer protection CID. Here’s what you need to do immediately:
Implement a complete document hold – no destruction of anything! Don’t communicate with customers about the investigation. Don’t try to “fix” practices that might be under investigation. Don’t talk to anyone except your lawyer. And absolutely don’t try to negotiate with the agency yourself!
The agencies are building there case against you right now. There analyzing your website, reviewing consumer complaints, preparing interview questions. Every day you wait to get proper representation is a day there ahead of you.
Call us RIGHT NOW at 212-300-5196
FTC and CFPB investigations destroy businesses FAST!
Free consultation – Payment plans available – We fight back!
Don’t let the FTC or CFPB bully you into accepting crushing penalties for practices you thought were perfectly legal! These agencies have gone completely off the rails, destroying legitimate businesses with there expansive interpretation of “unfair” and “deceptive.”
Remember – your facing agencies with unlimited resources, armies of attorneys, and a mandate to make examples out of businesses. You need someone who knows there tactics and isn’t afraid to fight back. Call us NOW before this investigation destroys everything you’ve built!
Very diligent, organized associates; got my case dismissed. Hard working attorneys who can put up with your anxiousness. I was accused of robbing a gemstone dealer. Definitely A law group that lays out all possible options and best alternative routes. Recommended for sure.
- ROBIN, GUN CHARGES ROBIN
NJ CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS