Enforcement
We enforce federal competition and consumer protection laws that prevent anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices.
,
Search or browse
the Legal Library
Find legal resources and guidance to understand your business responsibilities and comply with the law.
,
Take action
- Report an antitrust violation
- File adjudicative documents
- Find banned debt collectors
- View competition guidance
,
Competition Matters,
,
Policy
We work to advance government policies that protect consumers and promote competition.
,
Search or browse
the Legal Library
Find legal resources and guidance to understand your business responsibilities and comply with the law.
,
Take action
,
Technology Blog,
Staff in the Office of Technology,
,
Advice and Guidance
Learn more about your rights as a consumer and how to spot and avoid scams. Find the resources you need to understand how consumer protection law impacts your business.
,
Take action
- Report fraud
- Report identity theft
- Register for Do Not Call
- Sign up for consumer alerts
- Get Business Blog updates
- Get your free credit report
- Find refund cases
- Order bulk publications
,
Consumer Advice
- Shopping and Donating
- Credit, Loans, and Debt
- Jobs and Making Money
- Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts
- Identity Theft and Online Security
- Scams
,
Business Guidance
- Advertising and Marketing
- Credit and Finance
- Privacy and Security
- By Industry
- For Small Businesses
- Browse Business Guidance Resources
- Business Blog
,
Servicemembers:
Your tool for financial readiness
,
Get consumer protection basics, plain and simple
,
Learn how the FTC protects free enterprise and consumers
,
Looking for competition guidance?
,
News and Events
,
,
–
,
Follow us on social media
,
About the FTC
Our mission is protecting the public from deceptive or unfair business practices and from unfair methods of competition through law enforcement, advocacy, research, and education.
,
Looking for legal documents or records? Search the Legal Library instead.
,
Looking for legal documents or records? Search the Legal Library instead.
,
For Release,
Settlement with final defendant resolves case,
,
The ringleader of a student loan debt relief scam will be permanently banned from the debt relief industry and is required to turn over assets as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
The settlement with Marco Manzi resolves FTC charges involving the student loan debt relief scheme. The FTC charged that Manzi, Ivan Esquivel, and Robert Kissinger, operators of Express Enrollment LLC (also doing business as SLFD Processing) and Intercontinental Solutions LLC (also doing business as Apex Doc Processing LLC), pretended to be affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education and used “Biden Loan Forgiveness” or similar names to trick students into signing up for their student debt relief scheme. The FTC said that Apex operators pocketed approximately $8.8 million in junk fees by luring students with false promises of loan forgiveness.
The FTC announced a settlement in February 2024 with the other defendants in the case, Esquivel, Kissinger and the corporate defendants, which imposed similar requirements as the proposed order against Manzi.
The FTC has resources on how to avoid student loan debt relief scams at ftc.gov/StudentLoans. Consumers can get assistance with their student loans for free at StudentAid.gov.
The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the stipulated final order was 3-0. The FTC filed the final order in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The Court approved the final order on March 15, 2024.
The staff attorneys for this matter are Carlton Mosley and Gregory Ashe of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
,
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.
,
Office of Public Affairs,
202-326-2565
