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ARTICLE · 27 MAY 2020

FTC Sues Negative Option Marketers

Klein Moynihan Turco LLP
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On May 13, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against American Future Systems, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based telemarketing company,...

United StatesMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
David O. Klein
David O. Klein
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On May 13, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against American Future Systems, Inc. ("AFS"), a Pennsylvania-based telemarketing company, and its alleged co-conspirator, International Credit Recovery, Inc. ("ICR") (AFS and ICR, collectively, "Defendants"), for conspiring to bilk businesses into paying for publications that they never ordered. Pursuant to the scheme, AFS made unsolicited calls to various businesses and organizations across the country in an effort to dupe unsuspecting employees into agreeing to receive free samples of the company's publications. In reality, AFS would enroll the businesses in negative option programs without their consent. According to the FTC, when the businesses failed to pay for these products, AFS referred the matter to ICR, a debt collection agency, in order to prod the businesses into making payment.

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