Standard Industries LLC
Also known as: Standard Industries, Standard Industries, LLC.
The FTC alleged that Standard Industries and related defendants shipped and billed organizations for overpriced office and cleaning supplies they had not ordered. Court orders barred the conduct, and the FTC later mailed more than $11.6 million in refunds.
Resolved. Refunded, settled, ceased operating, or the claim did not hold up. Kept for the record.
Identity
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- Registrations
- FTC v. Standard Industries LLC (FTC case 132-3275, 2014)
- Locations
- Maryland
- Jurisdictions
- United States (federal)
Court orders stopped billing for unordered supplies
The FTC filed a complaint in July 2014 against Standard Industries LLC and related defendants in a Maryland-based office supply operation. The agency alleged that callers falsely suggested a prior business relationship, described calls as address confirmations or follow-ups, or offered free samples and catalogs. The defendants then sent light bulbs and cleaning supplies without consent and billed organizations at prices far above market rates.
The complaint charged violations of the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and the Unordered Merchandise Statute. A federal court temporarily halted the operation and froze assets in 2014. Settlement or default orders entered in 2016 barred the defendants from telemarketing nondurable office or cleaning supplies and from making specified misrepresentations in other sales.
The Standard Industries orders imposed judgments of more than $58 million against each defendant except Alan M. Landsman, whose judgment was $44 million. The release states that all of those judgments were suspended based on inability to pay. A receiver took control of company and personal assets valued at more than $5 million. Because the text gives no exact amount that Standard Industries was ordered to pay, no redress-ordered total is recorded.
In August 2019, the FTC mailed 29,333 refund checks totaling more than $11.6 million to small businesses and other organizations. The average check was $396. The case page describes these refunds as resulting from the financial judgment.
What is not established
The releases report settlement or default orders against the defendants. They do not state that every defendant admitted the allegations.
Sources
Every claim above rests on one of these. Open them and check.
- Enforcement action July 31, 2014
- Enforcement action July 11, 2017
- Enforcement action August 30, 2019
- Enforcement action August 30, 2019
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First recorded July 31, 2014 · Last updated August 30, 2019