Traffic Jam Events, LLC

Mail dressed as a government stimulus payment

Traffic Jam Events sent mailings designed to look like official COVID-19 relief correspondence. They carried lines such as “IMPORTANT COVID-19 ECONOMIC STIMULUS DOCUMENTS ENCLOSED,” displayed the likeness of the Great Seal of the United States, and contained a mock check labeled “Stimulus Relief Program.”

The sales they led to were not part of any government program. The Commission found the practices deceptive and unfair.

The prizes that were not won

Separately, the company sent direct mail indicating recipients had won specific valuable prizes, such as $2,500 or $5,000 cash, collectable at a car dealership. On arriving, people learned they had not won it.

The Commission’s opinion quotes a consumer who drove an hour to reach a dealer and reported: “Walked in for money, came out with bootlegged airpods.”

The Commission noted the company and its owner persisted despite three prior consent orders with state authorities that had already identified their advertising as deceptive.

The lending violation

The mailers also violated the Truth in Lending Act. They prominently quoted monthly payments for buying a vehicle on credit while omitting, or burying in small print, the financing terms the law requires so a buyer can work out what the loan actually costs.

The order

Traffic Jam Events and David J. Jeansonne II are banned from advertising, selling or leasing automobiles for 20 years, barred from misrepresenting any material fact while marketing any product or service of any kind, and from further TILA violations.

What is not established

This was a litigated Commission decision on summary decision rather than a settlement. The respondents have petitioned the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for review of the Commission’s opinion and order, so the outcome was under challenge as of the supplied documents.