By Wyatte Grantham Philips, Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --U.S. regulators have barred TurboTax maker Intuit Inc. from advertising its services as "free" unless they are free for all customers, or if eligibility is clearly disclosed.
In an opinion and final order issued Monday, the Federal Trade Commission ruled that Intuit engaged in deceptive practices by running ads claiming consumers could file their taxes for free using
TurboTax though many people did not qualify for such free offerings.
"The character of the past violations is egregious," reads the FTC commissioners' opinion, which details Intuit ads across TV, radio and online over the years. "Intuit blanketed the country with deceptive ads to taxpayers across multiple media channels."
In addition to prohibiting Intuit from marketing its products or services as free unless there's actually no cost for everyone, the FTC's order requires Intuit to disclose what percentage of consumers are eligible and note if a majority of taxpayers do not qualify.
Terms and conditions to obtain a free good or service must also be clearly disclosed or linked to if ad space is limited, the FTC said in its order. The order also bars Intuit from "misrepresenting any material facts about its products or services," including refund policies and price points.
In a statement sent to The Associated Press Tuesday, Intuit said it had appealed what it called the FTC's "deeply flawed decision."
"This decision is the result of a biased and broken system where the Commission serves as accuser, judge, jury, and then appellate judge all in the same case," Intuit stated. The California company later added that it believes it will prevail "when the matter ultimately returns to a neutral body."
Monday's opinion and final order upholds an initial decision from FTC chief administrative law judge D. Michael Chappell, who ruled that Intuit violated federal law by engaging in deceptive advertising back in September.
There was no financial penalty in the FTC's order, but Intuit has previously faced hefty charges over the marketing of "free" services. In a 2022 settlement signed by the attorneys general of all 50 states, Intuit agreed to suspend TurboTax's "free, free, free" ad campaign and pay $141 million in restitution to nearly 4.4 million taxpayers nationwide.
Settlement checks were sent out last year. Those impacted were low-income consumers eligible for free, federally-supported tax services — but paid TurboTax to file their federal returns due to "predatory and deceptive marketing," New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
Weinstein,... Read More