![]() "We have known Dennis Davis and the ABGSW team for over a decade and we have been incredibly impressed with their organization. This transaction will position Sentinel for further growth in the Southwest and enable it to leverage a strong team with extensive experience. ABGSW will expand Sentinel's geographical reach and deepen its expertise in providing retirement plan recordkeeping and administration services, including to Native American tribes and their commercial enterprises. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.ĪBGSW delivers administration and recordkeeping services and solutions that support workplace retirement and benefit plans across a wide range of industries both regionally and nationally, including a number of tribal retirement and per capita plans. (NASDAQ:FOCS) ("Focus"), a leading partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which Alliance Benefit Group Southwest, LLC ("ABGSW"), a retirement administration and record-keeping firm based in Albuquerque, NM, will join Focus partner firm Sentinel Benefits Group, LLC, which is part of Sentinel Group ("Sentinel"), headquartered in Wakefield, MA. ![]() The lead staff attorney on this matter was Michelle Schaefer of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / Janu/ Focus Financial Partners Inc. NOTE: Stipulated final orders or injunctions have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. ![]() The FTC filed the proposed order in the U.S. The Commission vote approving the stipulated final order was 3-0. If the settling defendants are found to have lied to the FTC about their financial status, the full judgment would be immediately payable. The order contains a total monetary judgment of $34,081,6073, which is partially suspended based on the settling defendants’ inability to pay the full amount. ![]() The relinquished assets will be used by the FTC to provide refunds to consumers harmed by the scam. The order also notes that Pai has already surrendered more than $500,000 to the United States as part of the federal criminal suit against him. It also requires Pai to assign his interest in a promissory note secured by real property to an FTC-appointed liquidator. Turn over funds and assets: The order would require the settling defendants to turn over the contents of numerous bank accounts and a retirement account.Prohibition on deceiving consumers: The order would also prohibit Pai and his companies from deceiving consumers about any other good or service they sell or market.Permanent ban on negative option marketing: Pai and his companies are permanently banned from participating in any negative option marketing.The proposed settlement order in the FTC case, includes a number of requirements: Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico related to his actions. In 2022, Pai pled guilty to separate charges brought by the U.S. The FTC also alleged that Pai created hundreds of shell companies to facilitate payment processing for the scam. In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Pai and his companies charged consumers tens of millions of dollars in fees they didn’t consent to, noting that the supposed disclosure of these fees was hidden behind a small link on the sales websites, and that consumers’ attempts to cancel were often unsuccessful, even when they returned the products unopened. "The FTC will continue its crackdown on junk fees and subscription traps.” "Our proposed order banning defendants from the subscription marketing business and ordering the return of assets is a big win for consumers, and it should send a strong message to other unscrupulous marketers," said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Consumers who bought the products were not aware that they would later be charged the full price for the products and a recurring monthly charge. The FTC sued Gopalkrishna Pai and eight companies he owned in 2019, charging that he marketed a number of skin creams online, selling them for a nominal “shipping and handling” fee, usually $4.99. About the FTC Show/hide About the FTC menu itemsĪs a result of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, the owner of a series of companies that charged consumers millions of dollars in undisclosed and recurring subscription fees for skin creams has agreed to a lifetime ban on negative option marketing and will turn over his funds and assets to the FTC.News and Events Show/hide News and Events menu items.Advice and Guidance Show/hide Advice and Guidance menu items.Competition and Consumer Protection Guidance Documents.Enforcement Show/hide Enforcement menu items.
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