At FTC’s Request, Court Halts Operations of Deceptive Health Care Telemarketers

At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a U.S. district court in Florida has temporarily stopped the operations of a web of companies and individuals that the FTC alleges caused tens of millions of dollars in harm through the deceptive marketing of health care plans.

According to the Commission’s complaint seeking the injunction, Top Healthcare Options Insurance Agency Inc (THO) and 11 related defendants operate a deceptive telemarketing scheme that takes advantage of consumers looking for comprehensive health insurance. They often target consumers shopping for comprehensive health insurance plans on the internet. In reality, the plans the defendants sell are not comprehensive health insurance or equivalent to such plans, do not provide the promised coverage, and leave the buyers unprotected from, at times, crushing medical costs.

“Health insurance is one of the most important and costly purchases consumers buy for themselves and their families,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Whether shopping for groceries or healthcare, affordability is front-and-center right now in consumers’ decision-making process. This makes ensuring they have all the information necessary to make informed choices even more important.”

The FTC alleges consumers are misled into entering personal information on websites that appear as if they offer comprehensive health insurance by promoting plans such as “Affordable Care Act Plans,” “Obamacare Health Insurance Carriers,” and “2024 Obama Care Plans.” The sites, however, are actually built for lead generators who collect consumers’ information and sell it to the defendants or their vendors for telemarketing purposes, according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges that, when calling consumers, the defendants launch into a pitch designed to move prospective buyers away from comprehensive health insurance coverage and toward the plans they offer, which actually provide far less health care coverage than comprehensive plans, leaving the buyers exposed to thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket medical expenses.

The complaint charges the defendants with falsely representing that the limited benefits plans and medical discount memberships they sell:

• are comprehensive health insurance, or the equivalent of such insurance;
• are PPO plans;
• provide substantial coverage for consumers’ specific needs, such as specific providers, types of medical services, or prescription medications; and
• limit consumers’ responsibility for the cost of certain medical services to a fixed, low amount, for example, by using copays or deductibles.

The complaint alleges the defendants violated the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and the FTC Act and seeks refunds for affected consumers and other relief. The court entered a temporary restraining order against the defendants for their alleged law violations.

The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the complaint against the 12 defendants was 2-0. It was filed under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and the seal has now been lifted.

The defendants in the case include: 1) Top Healthcare Options Insurance Agency Inc; 2) Golden State Advisors Insurance Agency LLC; 3) Top Healthcare Solutions LLC; 4) Direct Health Solutions Insurance Agency, LLC; 5) Prime Healthcare Solutions Insurance Agency LLC; 6) Premier Services Group Hub LLC; 7) Elevation Media Group LLC; 8) Sargent Financial LLC (d/b/a WeMake Media LLC); 9) Ramz Media Marketing LLC; 10) Tiffanie Gonzalez; 11) Ramzey Hassoun; and 12) Richard Sargent.

The Commission staff on this matter are Tammy Chung, Jason Moon, and Nicole Conte in the FTC’s Southwest Region.