FTC Sues Amare Global Over Health Claims for Kids’ and Adults’ Supplements, Income Promises
The Federal Trade Commission has sued Amare Global Holdings and three executives, accusing the multilevel marketer of falsely claiming its dietary supplements could treat conditions including depression, anxiety and ADHD, while also misleading recruits about how much money they could make as “brand partners.”
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, names former chief science officer Shawn Talbott, founding brand partner Patrick Hintze and CEO and majority shareholder David Chung as defendants. The FTC says Talbott and Hintze are already subject to prior FTC orders banning false, misleading and unsubstantiated claims.
Health Claims Challenged
According to the complaint, Amare marketed products including Happy Juice, Kids Mood+ and Kids Happy Juice with claims that they could lower cortisol, increase serotonin, dopamine and GABA, and cure, treat or mitigate depression, anxiety and ADHD. The agency says those claims were made directly by the company and repeatedly echoed by brand partners on social platforms including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook.
The FTC also says the company’s claims were “false, misleading and unsubstantiated,” and that Amare knew brand partners were targeting parents seeking help for children with serious mental-health conditions. The complaint cites examples of posts and videos that allegedly linked the products to reduced anxiety, improved mood and better behavior in children and adults.
Income Claims Alleged
The FTC further alleges that Amare misled prospective sellers by suggesting they could earn a steady side income, including specific promises such as $500 a month, even without prior MLM experience or a large social media following. The agency says the company’s own compensation materials advertised multiple ways to earn, while small-print disclosures noted that the “typical Brand Partner earns 300.48yearly.”
Company Structure & FTC Response
Amare sells through a network of independent contractor “brand partners,” whom it supplies with links, training materials, graphics and logos to market products and recruit others. The complaint says Amare largely depends on that network for sales and that the company has promoted some of the same brand partners who made the most extreme claims, despite knowing the posts allegedly violated company policy.
Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the company’s claims were “not only deceptive but dangerous” because parents were looking for help for children with serious conditions. He said companies must make truthful marketing claims and follow FTC orders.
FTC, Nevada Force Tax Relief Firm to Surrender Millions in Scam Settlement
A tax-debt relief operation accused of impersonating government tax authorities and deceiving consumers will hand over more than $8 million in cash and assets under a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Nevada. The deal also bars the two individual defendants from debt-relief services, tax preparation, telemarketing and impersonation schemes.
The case centers on American Tax Service and affiliated companies, along with operators Terrance Selb and Tyler Bennett. The FTC said the defendants mailed threatening letters that appeared to come from government agencies, including the IRS, to lure consumers into calling, then falsely promised to reduce or eliminate tax debt.
According to the agency, the company told taxpayers it could settle back taxes for “pennies on the dollar” or for a fraction of what they owed, often before reviewing their actual tax situations. The FTC also said the operation targeted older consumers and sold expensive add-on services, sometimes costing tens of thousands of dollars.
“People trying to pay down their tax debt shouldn’t have to worry about fraudsters pocketing their hard-earned money,” said Christopher Mufarrige, FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Director. “The FTC will not hesitate to act to stop companies like ATS that target hard-working Americans with bogus debt relief services.”
Court Action
A federal court temporarily halted the alleged scheme in October 2025 after the FTC and Nevada sued. The court order froze assets, appointed a temporary receiver and restricted access to records while the case moved forward.
Under the proposed order, Selb and Bennett face a $77.7 million judgment, reflecting what the FTC says the defendants took from consumers between February 2022 and 2025. That amount is suspended except for the roughly $8 million in cash and assets they must surrender now, though the full judgment could become due if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their finances.
What’s Banned
The settlement would prohibit Selb and Bennett from offering debt-relief or tax-preparation services, engaging in most outbound telemarketing, impersonating individuals or government entities, and misrepresenting material facts about products or services.
Litigation continues against the corporate defendants, including American Tax Service LLC, American Tax Solutions LLC, ATS Tax Group LLC, Elite Sales Solutions, GetATaxLawyer.com LLC, TNT Holdings Group LLC, TNT Services Group LLC and TNT Tax Associates Inc. The FTC said it moved for default judgment against those entities in May 2026.
FTC Forces Ascension Health to Sell Seven Surgery Centers in $3.9 Billion Merger Deal
Regulators say divestitures necessary to prevent higher costs, lower quality care for patients in five states
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday required national nonprofit health system Ascension Health Alliance to sell seven ambulatory surgery centers as a condition of completing its $3.9 billion acquisition of AmSurg LLC, a move regulators said would protect patients from higher out-of-pocket costs and declining quality of care.
The proposed consent order, approved by a 2-0 commission vote, targets markets in Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas where the merger would have otherwise eliminated competition for outpatient procedures ranging from cataract surgeries to colonoscopies.
“Access to quality surgical care at an affordable price is critically important for millions of Americans across the country,” said Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The FTC’s action ordering divestitures of surgical care centers will help preserve a competitive market that will allow patients to get the care they need at a fair price.”
Under the agreement, Ascension will divest six AmSurg facilities to SC Affiliates, a national operator of ambulatory surgery centers, and one facility in Panama City, Florida, to Florida Gastroenterology Center, a physician group that currently holds a minority stake in that location.
The affected markets include Nashville, Tennessee; Panama City, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Waco, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas — metropolitan areas where the FTC alleges the proposed transaction would have substantially lessened competition for outpatient surgical services performed by gastroenterologists, ophthalmologists, and orthopedists.
According to the complaint, limited competition in these markets would likely drive higher surgery prices for patients while also threatening to reduce quality of care and stifle innovation in surgical services.
The consent order imposes additional restrictions beyond the required divestitures. Ascension must provide transition assistance for up to one year, protect confidential information, maintain the viability of the divested assets until transfer, and refrain from interfering with employment relationships at the affected facilities. A monitor will be appointed to oversee compliance.
For a period of 10 years, Ascension must provide the FTC with prior notice for any acquisition of ambulatory surgery centers in the metropolitan areas surrounding the divested facilities.
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