FTCWatch
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April 14, 2026
Fuel executive sentenced for contract bid scam
A Florida judge sentenced Jasen Butler, the owner of Independent Marine Oil Services, to 60 months in prison for a contract bid scheme, the Department of Justice announced.
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April 14, 2026
StubHub to pay $10 million in ticket-pricing settlement
StubHub must pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission claims of deceptively advertising ticket prices without clearly showing how much consumers would actually pay, including mandatory fees.
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April 14, 2026
Coalition eyes price discrimination law, expands lobbying efforts
A coalition of small businesses is ramping up pressure on the Trump administration to bring more cases under the Robinson-Patman Act.
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April 14, 2026
Legislation seeks transparency for AI foundation models
As concerns about trust in the artificial intelligence industry prevail, House lawmakers are seeking to increase transparency about the technology with the Federal Trade Commission playing a key role.
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April 14, 2026
Privacy Corner: Consumer champions Vaca, Daffan launch new firm
Amid a rapid surge in scams, fraud and surveillance issues, former Federal Trade Commission attorneys Monica Vaca and Kati Daffan have launched their own firm, Vaca Daffan LLP. The duo will use their training as federal enforcers to help consumers in cases they get to choose.
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April 14, 2026
People — Huppert, an antitrust veteran, joins Winston & Strawn
Matthew Huppert, a key player in antitrust litigation strategy and execution at the Department of Justice, is now a partner at Winston & Strawn.
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April 14, 2026
Calendar
April 15 — Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson and agency member Mark Meador will testify at the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee’s hearing on “Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission.” It will be held at 10 a.m. in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. For more information, go to: https://www.commerce.senate.gov.
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April 14, 2026
Nearly $16 billion lost to fraud in 2025, FTC senior official testifies
In congressional testimony, a Federal Trade Commission official shared alarming statistics — the agency’s Consumer Sentinel Network database logged over $2 billion more in fraud losses than the prior year with almost half a million more fraud reports.
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April 14, 2026
Meador sees FTC as strong enforcer but not overly prescriptive
Federal Trade Commission member Mark Meador wants the agency to be a strong enforcer in protecting privacy, especially for children, but the agency has no plans to tell companies how to run their businesses.
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April 14, 2026
Executive order sharpens focus on ‘Made in America’ claims
Three weeks after the Supreme Court struck down an initial attempt by President Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs, the administration turned to executive action to bolster manufacturing in the US.
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April 14, 2026
On The Shelf: A serious yet amusing take on the Supreme Court
Winston Churchill famously said Russia is a “riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”
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April 14, 2026
Antitrust Division staff depart DOJ as morale sinks
Low morale and concerns about the direction of enforcement have led to a series of departures from the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, and more exits are expected this month, MLex has learned.
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April 14, 2026
Neil Averitt commentary: The numbers game behind innovation competition
Enforcers at the late March antitrust conferences repeatedly said they intend to pay more attention to innovation competition. They didn’t specify the exact methodology they would use. But two early steps seem particularly likely.
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April 14, 2026
FTC proposes flat budget in 2027 for antitrust, privacy enforcement
Antitrust and privacy enforcement spending by the Federal Trade Commission would stay flat in the coming fiscal year under a budget proposal the agency sent to Congress. The FTC also published a strategic plan that said enforcement would avoid “unduly burdening legitimate business activity.”
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April 14, 2026
Ex-Air Force serviceman pleads guilty to bid-rigging schemes
Alan Hayward James, a former member of the US Air Force, has pleaded guilty to multi-year bid-rigging schemes that defrauded the government out of $37 million, according to the Department of Justice.
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April 14, 2026
FTC presses Tennessee lawmakers on keeping Ballad Health COPA
The Federal Trade Commission warned Tennessee legislators of the potential consequences of proposed legislation that would terminate a certificate of public advantage that provides state regulatory oversight for Ballad Health.
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April 14, 2026
Paramount, Warner can expect scrutiny of CNN from Democrats in US states
CBS News parent Paramount Skydance’s proposed buyout of CNN owner Warner Bros. Discovery would give a single corporation control over two of the most popular US-based TV news broadcasts and online news providers.
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March 31, 2026
Neil Averitt commentary: New normal, states circling and other ABA sideline talk
The American Bar Association’s Antitrust Spring Meeting is excellent in two ways. The formal panel presentations are a great way to keep informed of legal events, and the informal conversations in the hallways can be equally informative and cover different ground. This year the informal exchanges were especially valuable.
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March 31, 2026
‘Acqui-hire issue’ a focus for Ferguson
Elaborating on language from the Federal Trade Commission’s request for public comment on premerger notifications, agency Chairman Andrew Ferguson recently discussed the problem of regulating so-called “acqui-hires.”
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March 31, 2026
Calendar
April 15 — Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson and agency member Mark Meador will testify at the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee’s hearing on “Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission.” It will be held at 10 a.m. in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. For more information, go to: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/press/rep/release/oversight-of-the-federal-trade-commission/.
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March 31, 2026
Slaughter praises agency bipartisanship while awaiting high court ruling
Former Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Kelly Slaughter on Thursday extolled the virtues of the agency’s bipartisan tradition and declined to discuss a “post-apocalyptic world” that could occur if she loses her appeal before the Supreme Court.
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March 31, 2026
After Live Nation deal, Klobuchar wants stronger review of antitrust settlements
Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced the Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act aimed at strengthening reviews of antitrust settlements to ensure they protect consumers, workers and small businesses.
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March 31, 2026
Casablanca or The Godfather: Officials clash over comparisons of DOJ
Roger Alford, the embattled former senior Department of Justice official, tried on a new hat during the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Spring Meeting — movie critic.
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March 31, 2026
Xponential Fitness to pay $17 million over deceptive tactics
Xponential Fitness agreed to pay $17 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims over violations of the Franchise Rule and related deceptive practices.
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March 31, 2026
Texas man pleads guilty to rigging bids for US Air Force projects
Eric J. Caddy, the owner of a storage sales company, pleaded guilty to a scheme to rig bids and defraud the Department of Defense in connection with selling products to US Air Force healthcare facilities.