WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission will testify to Congress next week to discuss the agency's anti-fraud efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly its ability to seek financial redress from accused scam artists.
Among the concerns to be discussed is whether the Supreme Court could rule that the FTC overstepped its authority when seeking ill-gotten gains from those accused of deceptive practices. The FTC, which cannot bring criminal charges, has said a ruling against it would severely curtail its ability to undo damage done by fraudsters.
FTC data shows that there have been 259,763 reports of fraud between January 2020 and April 2021, with a median loss of $340.
The witnesses will be FTC Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Slaughter and Commissioner Rohit Chopra, who has been nominated to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Both are Democrats. Also testifying will be Republican Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson.
Big tech critic Lina Khan has been nominated to join the FTC.