The operators of RagingBull.com, an online stock trading site that used bogus earnings claims to trick consumers into signing up for services and then trapped them into hard-to-cancel subscription plans with costly charges, will be required to pay $2.425 million, end the earnings deception, get affirmative approval from consumers for subscription sign ups, and provide them with a simple method to cancel recurring charges.
“Raging Bull’s baseless earnings claims and hard-to-cancel subscriptions cost consumers millions,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Today’s proposed order continues the FTC’s crackdown on false earnings claims, returning millions to consumers and requiring click-to-cancel online subscriptions.”
In December 2020, the FTC filed a lawsuit alleging that Raging Bull marketed its stock and options trading services to consumers with deceptive earnings claims, including claims that consumers who followed the advice and trade recommendations of Raging Bull’s “gurus” could “double or triple” their trading accounts quickly and easily.
As the complaint further alleges, the defendants featured testimonials from purported customers claiming to have made “[$]6500.00 in 20 minutes” and “$500 in 15 min[utes].” In addition, the defendants allegedly tried to profit off the COVID-19 pandemic, with one “guru” claiming that he was able to “rack up nearly $500K in profits by trading stocks related to the COVID-19 pandemic” and that...
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