FTC Financial Deception Enforcement and Rulemaking Post-AMG Capital
American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section
Financial deception is an increasingly important enforcement priority for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Since 2025, the agency has initiated enforcement actions targeting earnings claims, business opportunities, multilevel marketing (MLM) programs, AI-enabled money-making schemes, and gig-economy compensation representations. Many of these actions have resulted in substantial monetary relief, despite the US Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in AMG Capital Management LLC v. FTC, which limited the FTC’s ability to seek certain financial remedies.
In an article for the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Law Section, Analysis Group Vice President Anne Catherine Faye examines how the FTC has adapted its consumer protection enforcement strategy in the wake of AMG Capital. She describes how the agency has shifted its approach, relying more heavily on alternative statutory authorities, enforcement partnerships, and rulemaking initiatives.
In the article, Ms. Faye reviews recent enforcement actions involving allegedly deceptive earnings representations and financial opportunity claims, including matters related to investment training programs, MLM ventures, AI-related business opportunities, and gig-economy platforms. She also observes that, in dealing with AI-related claims, the FTC is applying traditional deception principles rather than developing a particular framework for a new technology. The analysis highlights how the FTC continues to pursue financial deception matters across a range of markets while adapting to the post–AMG Capital legal landscape.