FTC Returns Money to Consumers Tricked into Buying Phony Health Insurance

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 6,832 checks totaling more than $1.1 million to consumers who lost money to a health insurance scam.

In 2012, the FTC charged the Independent Association of Businesses (IAB) and Health Service Providers (HSP) defendants with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule by deceiving consumers seeking comprehensive health insurance. Instead of health coverage, consumers received membership in IAB, an obscure trade association that provided purported discounts on services such as identity-theft protection, travel, and roadside assistance, and some healthcare related benefits that were subject to broad exclusions and limitations.

Under settlement orders issued in 2013 and 2014, the defendants are banned from selling healthcare-related products.

Consumers who purchased IAB memberships from HSP’s telemarketers will receive checks in the amount of $167.63 from the FTC’s refund administrator, Gilardi & Co., LLC. Consumers should deposit or cash the checks within 60 days of the mailing date. The FTC never requires consumers to pay money or to provide information before refund checks can be cashed. 

Consumers who receive checks and have questions can contact Gilardi & Co. at 1-877-255-2476. Learn more about the FTC’s refund program.

Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

This article by the Federal Trade Commission was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.