On May 9, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a civil award and injunction issued by the District Court against Spectrum Brands, Inc., a multinational consumer goods retailer based in Madison, Wisconsin. The District Court found that Spectrum and its former subsidiary, Applica Consumer Products Inc., violated the Consumer Product Safety Act by waiting years to notify the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of customer reports that the handles of Black & Decker coffee jugs could suddenly break and cause a burn hazard on hot coffee. On June 21, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District upheld the conviction of Edward « Ned » Weaver, who ran Vendstar, a Long Island company that sold worthless candy vending opportunities. Weaver and five other co-conspirators were convicted of mail fraud, wire transfer fraud and other charges after a trial in 2015. Sixteen other defendants pleaded guilty. Vendstar`s sales representatives – with the knowledge and encouragement of Weaver and other managers – distorted the company`s likely profits, the performance of previous customers, the availability of high-profitability locations, and the services provided by the localization companies. In the last five years of its opening, Vendstar generated approximately $62 million in revenue. Weaver argued in his appeal that he was not guilty because Vendstar`s customers had signed sales contracts in which they could not rely on what the sales representatives had said orally. The Second Circuit rejected this argument, ruling that « [t]he person cannot escape criminal responsibility for lies designed to induce gullible victims to make worthless investments by making them sign a contract containing disclaimers. » On June 4, 2019, the District Court issued two injunctions against doctors Cesar B.
Pena Rodriguez and Leovares A. Mendez to prevent them from prescribing illegally potent opioids linked to abuse and diversion. The orders prohibit defendants from distributing or dispensing controlled substances such as « opiates » and « opioids » under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and from altering, suppressing, destroying, mutilating or transferring records related to their prescriptions for controlled substances or related treatments. The civil lawsuit against the defendants, filed by the U.S. Attorney`s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the Consumer Protection Division, alleges that the defendants prescribed controlled substances in violation of the CSA. In this Friday, September 27, 2019 photo, fired Dallas police officer Amber Guyger becomes emotional as she testifies in her Dallas murder trial. (Tom Fox/AP) On June 24, 2019, Michael Carey Eubank pleaded guilty to conspiracy to tamper with the odometer in the Eastern District of Virginia. Eubank, who ran an auto electronics repair shop in Midlothian, Virginia, admitted that between 2010 and 2016, he used various electronic tools to access the car`s odometer to reduce the mileage of hundreds of vehicles. At times, Eubank has reduced mileage by more than 100,000 miles. 6.
In March 2019, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom issued an injunction under 18 U.S.C. § 1345 against Maven Infotech Pvt. Ltd., an India-based company. In a lawsuit filed in March 2019, the government alleged that the defendant used telemarketers posing as computer technicians and often posing as well-known technology companies, contacting unsuspecting consumers and falsely informing them that their computers were experiencing serious problems; Telemarketers then falsely tell consumers that the problems have been resolved, and then demand payment for purported technical support services on one or more occasions. Based on the evidence presented, the court found probable reason to conclude that « defendant Maven Infotech Pvt. Ltd., which also operates as Maven Info Tech Ltd., Ozemio Inc., OZM, Urgent Tech Help and UTH, violates or is about to violate the federal Electronic Fraud Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The order goes on to state that « the United States has presented evidence that the defendant is involved in a predatory fraud scheme involving consumers. This program particularly affects older persons throughout the country and in several other countries.
Among other things, the order prohibits the defendant from engaging in computer security telemarketing, accepting payments for technical support services, impersonating technology companies, and engaging in commercial activities using their email addresses in the « @ozemioinc.com » and « @urgentechelp.com » domains. For more information, see Maven Infotech – The Summons and Complaint. 6. In March 2019, the court released guilty pleas from two defendants and an 18-count indictment against a third person who allegedly operated a massive mail fraud scheme for more than 20 years. On October 25, 2018, Patrice Runner, a Canadian and French citizen, was charged in the Eastern District of New York with mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire transfer fraud, and conspiracy to launder money. Runner was arrested in Spain and extradition proceedings were opened before a Spanish court. In June 2018, Canadian citizens Maria Thanos and Philip Lett pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in the Eastern District of New York for their role in operating the same mental mail fraud scheme.