FTC sues two companies and businessman over passport deception
The agency says the companies advertised expedited processing starting at $89 although the described minimum cost reached $148 with shipping.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit on October 22 against GovAssist LLC, Entry LLC and businessman Scott Zuckerman over allegedly deceptive charges connected with U.S. passport applications. The agency says the companies used websites and advertisements to offer private services that could be confused with official ones. The complaint makes allegations against all three defendants; filing it does not itself constitute a judicial determination of liability.
The FTC investigation describes customer acquisition through internet searches. The companies paid for Google ads to place offers prominently when users searched for travel-document information. On official-looking websites, they offered passport assistance and promised to expedite the process within three or four days. The agency says that presentation could cause customers to interpret the private service as part of the official process.
The advertised price started at $89, but the minimum cost described by the FTC was higher. The base fee reached $119, with another $29 for shipping, producing a minimum payment of $148. According to the agency, the promotional figure therefore did not match the total for the least expensive option. The difference between the initial offer and final cost forms part of the deceptive-charge allegations.
The FTC says the investigated practices affected more than 300,000 consumers since 2023 and generated tens of millions of dollars. Those figures show the scale the agency attributes to the business in addition to the difference between the advertised price and described minimum payment. The lawsuit brings the allegations against the two companies and their owner before a court and identifies the advertising, appearance of the sites and fees as elements of the case.