On May 11, 2026, the Department of Justice, acting on notification from the Federal Trade Commission, and the Illinois Attorney General, filed a complaint against “Premium Home Service” and its owner for alleged violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act, the Consumer Reviews Rule, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act).  The Complaint seeks injunctive relief, monetary relief, and civil penalties.  

According to the Complaint, Premium Home Service posed as a home repair business, but in reality, employed no service technicians and often failed to provide the services it promised. To market itself, Premium Home Service created fake online business listings that included a physical address near the customer’s home and a phone number with a local area code.  The FTC alleged that the defendants, as well as their employees and immediate relatives, posted five-star ratings and authored positive consumer reviews for the fake companies.  The defendants allegedly misappropriated images of real people to make their reviews appear legitimate, and they also purchased additional fake consumer reviews. 

When consumers called, overseas customer service representatives would allegedly pretend to be local and would inform the customer that they would need to pay a service fee or purchase an annual membership for a technician to be dispatched.  According to the Complaint, Premium Home Service had no “technicians” at all and after a customer paid, would attempt to outsource the customer’s request to a third-party but often failed to find a licensed and qualified company to perform the work.

Based on these allegations, the Complaint brings a variety of claims against Premium Home Service, including:

  • Violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act by deceptively representing that Premium Home Service is actually a local home repair business and will send a technician to the customer’s home;
  • Violations of the Consumer Reviews Rule by creating, purchasing and procuring fake reviews, including from employees and family members;
  • Violations of the GLB Act by obtaining customer financial information by making false representations about the nature of the business, the services it will provide, and the truthfulness of its reviews;
  • Violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (brought by the state of Illinois).

The Complaint seeks monetary relief and injunctive relief, and also seeks civil penalties based on the alleged violations of the Consumer Reviews Rule and the GLB Act.  In a separate action, the Minnesota Attorney General simultaneously filed a lawsuit against Premium Home Service for substantially similar claims. This case demonstrates that the FTC is continuing to ramp up its enforcement of the Consumer Reviews Rule.  The Rule, which was published in the fall of 2024, prohibits practices such as authoring fake reviews, paying for positive reviews, or suppressing negative reviews.  The lawsuit against Premium Home Services follows another recent settlement in which the FTC alleged violations of the Consumer Reviews Rule by TruHeight, a company selling supplements for improving the height of kids and teens.  Both of these actions follow the ten warning letters the FTC sent last December that warned industry about potential violations of the Rule.

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Photo of Laura Kim Laura Kim

Laura Kim has a proven track record of successfully resolving clients’ most important consumer protection matters before the FTC, State AGs, and the NAD. She is well-known for her insider knowledge of the FTC as well as her practical approach to accomplishing her…

Laura Kim has a proven track record of successfully resolving clients’ most important consumer protection matters before the FTC, State AGs, and the NAD. She is well-known for her insider knowledge of the FTC as well as her practical approach to accomplishing her clients’ objectives.

As chair of Covington’s Advertising & Consumer Protection Investigations practice group, Laura represents corporate and individual clients in investigations before the FTC and State Attorneys General. She also provides pragmatic compliance advice on a wide range of consumer protection issues, including substantiating claims involving generative artificial intelligence, environmental benefits, and “Made in USA.” She counsels brands on emerging issues involving influencers, consumer reviews, AI-generated content, and subscription autorenewals. Laura regularly represents both challengers and advertisers before the NAD, achieving favorable outcomes in matters involving artificial intelligence, influencers, and claim substantiation.

During her twelve-year tenure at the FTC, Laura served as Assistant Director in two divisions of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Attorney Advisor to Chairman William E. Kovacic, and Chief of Staff to Bureau Director Jessica Rich. She oversaw major rulemakings—including the Green Guides and the Telemarketing Sales Rule—and supervised dozens of investigations and enforcement actions. As Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement, Laura also supervised compliance monitoring and enforcement proceedings for companies under federal court or Commission order.

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Photo of Andrew Siegel Andrew Siegel

Andrew Siegel defends clients in FTC, DOJ, and State AG consumer protection investigations and enforcement actions, including against allegations relating to advertising and marketing practices, subscription autorenewals, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Andrew has extensive experience representing clients across industries, including in…

Andrew Siegel defends clients in FTC, DOJ, and State AG consumer protection investigations and enforcement actions, including against allegations relating to advertising and marketing practices, subscription autorenewals, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Andrew has extensive experience representing clients across industries, including in the technology, consumer products, and financial services sectors, in high-stakes government investigations by federal and state regulators. He defends clients against allegations relating to the marketing of online subscriptions, the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence, undisclosed endorsements, claim substantiation, and other unfair and deceptive practices. He also counsels clients on proactive compliance with FTC and state regulations governing consumer interactions.

In addition, Andrew advises clients on the protection of customer information and other sensitive data as they respond to demands from U.S. and international law enforcement agencies and government regulators, as well as private plaintiffs. Andrew assists clients in navigating U.S. and international data privacy requirements as they respond to federal grand jury subpoenas, international legal demands, and discovery requests.

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Photo of Alexandra Remick Alexandra Remick

Alexandra Remick is a member of the Advertising and Consumer Protection Investigations Group. Her practice focuses on regulatory and compliance matters related to consumer protection. She has experience advising clients on topics including endorsements, social media influencers, native advertising, automatically renewing subscriptions, consumer…

Alexandra Remick is a member of the Advertising and Consumer Protection Investigations Group. Her practice focuses on regulatory and compliance matters related to consumer protection. She has experience advising clients on topics including endorsements, social media influencers, native advertising, automatically renewing subscriptions, consumer reviews, and claim substantiation in a variety of contexts. She frequently provides advice on specific advertising compliance questions and works with companies on developing internal advertising compliance policies. She has also represented multiple clients in FTC investigations involving consumer protection issues, has conducted regulatory due diligence on multiple transactions, and has drafted comments on multiple rulemakings.

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