December 2022

The operators of an alleged grant scam called Grant Bae that targeted minority-owned businesses will face a permanent ban from grant-writing and business consulting services as a result of a lawsuit brought against them by the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida.

“These fraudsters preyed on minority-owned businesses that were trying to survive the pandemic,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Our proposed orders will ensure these scammers get out and stay out of the grant writing and business consulting fields.”

In their complaint against Grant Bae, the FTC and Florida alleged that Grant Bae and its owner, Treashonna P. Graham, scammed businesses out of money, sometimes thousands of dollars each, with false promises of “guaranteed” grant funding and COVID-19 economic benefits that did not materialize.

The defendants in the case—Graham and her company C Lee Enterprises, LLC—have agreed to the terms of a proposed court order that would require them to:

• Stop grant-related services and business consulting: The order would permanently ban the defendants from providing any products or services related to either grants or business consulting.
• Stop deceiving consumers: The order would prohibit defendants from making any misleading statements in connection with any product or service they are selling.
• Turn over property: The order would require the defendants to turn over a home, a car and a watch to the court-appointed receiver in the case and would order the receiver to sell those items to raise money that would be used to provide refunds to businesses harmed by the Grant Bae scheme.

The order against Graham and C Lee Enterprises  includes a monetary judgment of more than $2 million, which is partially suspended due to an inability to pay. An additional settlement with one relief defendant contains a monetary settlement of $115,000, which is fully suspended due to an inability to pay. If any of the defendants are found to have lied about their financial status, the full monetary judgments will be immediately due.

The Commission vote approving the stipulated final order was 4-0. The FTC and Florida filed the proposed orders in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

NOTE: Stipulated final orders or injunctions have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

Today, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan announced that an open meeting of the Commission will be held virtually on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. The open meeting will commence at 1 p.m. ET and will begin with time for members of the public to address the Commission.

The following items will be on the tentative agenda for the Commission meeting:

Business Before the Commission:

Regulatory Review of the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims: The Commission will vote on whether to publish a Federal Register notice commencing a regulatory review of the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, known as the “Green Guides.” The Green Guides outline principles that apply to all environmental marketing claims, as well as guidance regarding specific categories of marketing claims. This review is part of the Commission’s periodic review of its guides.

Data Security Presentation: The Chief Technology Officer’s team will give a presentation on the FTC’s efforts to refine its approach to data security by building on the solid foundations of safety engineering and a set of controls that address risks systemically. These principles reflect the Commission’s efforts to keep pace with technological developments, learn from past experiences, and strengthen remedies to address root causes, even as technologies evolve.

At the start of the meeting, Chair Khan will offer brief remarks and will then invite members of the public to share feedback on the Commission’s work generally and bring relevant matters to the Commission’s attention. Members of the public must sign up for an opportunity to address the Commission virtually at the December 14 meeting.

Each commenter will be given two minutes to share their comments. Those who cannot participate during the event may submit written comments or a link to a prerecorded video through a webform. Speaker registration and comment submission will be available through December 12 at 8 p.m. ET.

The FTC’s public meeting agendas will be posted on the Commission’s website at least seven days prior to the Commission’s next monthly meeting. A link to the event will be available on December 14, shortly before the meeting starts, via FTC.gov. The event will be recorded, and the webcast and any related comments will be available on the Commission’s website after the meeting. The Commission retains discretion to make public comments available following the event on ftc.gov.

Following the first meeting of the Federal Trade Commission’s Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group in September, the FTC has announced the agencies, organizations, and other participants that will be represented on the advisory group’s committees. 

The committees will address different areas focused on protecting older adults from scams, including consumer education and outreach, industry training, technology and new methods for detecting scams, and scam prevention research. The committees will begin meeting this week.

More information about the advisory group and the full list of committee members can be found on the FTC’s website.