On Jan. 31, a court in Miami entered the final in a series of consent decrees, permanently barring 10 individuals and entities from operating a scheme to steal funds from thousands of bank accounts belonging to consumers and small businesses across the United States.
In a civil complaint unsealed on Dec. 11, 2023, the Justice Department alleged that a network of individuals and their companies, including defendants Farhan Khan, Jeremy Todd Briley, Christopher Foufas, Brandon Hahn, and Melinda Petit-Homme, participated in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from consumers and small businesses by making recurring unauthorized charges against their bank accounts.
The defendants allegedly used sham companies, including Altitude Processing Inc., which does business as Clear Marketing Agency, to cover their tracks and make the unauthorized charges appear legitimate. The defendants also allegedly took elaborate steps to portray the sham companies as legitimate businesses that provided online marketing services, creating bogus websites for the sham companies, fake customer authorizations for the charges, and a “customer service” call center to field complaints and offer refunds. The government alleged that, in reality, victims of the scheme never signed up for — or received — any services from the defendants.
“These consent decrees are the hard-won result of the Department’s efforts to eradicate schemes that prey upon consumers and small businesses across the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department is committed to using all the tools at its disposal to block fraudsters from reaching into victims’ bank accounts and draining their savings through repeated unauthorized charges.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will relentlessly pursue any and everyone masquerading as legitimate businesses to fraudulently steal money from unsuspecting consumers,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group. “Postal inspectors work diligently to investigate fraud scams and educate the public about how to protect their money from criminals.”
Under the consent decrees, the defendants may not charge consumers without authorization. The consent decrees also prevent the defendants from taking any measures to: (a) evade fraud and risk monitoring programs established by any financial institution, payment processor, or the operator of any payment system; (b) disguise the nature of transactions; or (c) artificially reduce chargeback rates. They are further prohibited from assisting any other individuals or entities with taking any of the prohibited actions. The consent decrees do not constitute an admission of guilt on behalf of the defendants.
The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Carolyn Rice and Meredith Reiter of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch represented the government in this matter. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida provided substantial assistance.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
