Seek Capital and its CEO, Roy Ferman, have been permanently banned from providing business financing, debt relief, and credit repair services following a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The action resolves allegations that Seek Capital misled entrepreneurs and small business owners seeking funding.
The FTC’s complaint, filed in November 2024, stated that Seek Capital targeted new and aspiring small business owners by promising access to loans or lines of credit through “special relationships” with lenders. According to the FTC, instead of delivering on these promises, Seek Capital charged clients significant fees for opening credit cards—often without the promised zero percent interest terms. These practices reportedly cost business owners millions of dollars and damaged their credit scores. The company also advertised no upfront fees but imposed substantial charges when consumers attempted to cancel.
“Instead of offering businesses the financing they sought, Seek Capital took advantage of them and often left them in worse shape,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Companies should be on notice that the FTC will take action to protect small businesses and entrepreneurs from deceptive claims and other unlawful conduct.”
In September 2025, a federal court granted most of the FTC’s request for summary judgment against Seek Capital and Ferman. The court found that they misrepresented their relationships with lenders, falsely claimed to offer credit cards with line-of-credit capability and specific favorable terms such as zero percent APR, misled customers about fees, and assured clients their services would not harm credit scores. These actions were found to violate both the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Additionally, contracts used by Seek Capital were found to violate the Consumer Review Fairness Act by restricting negative consumer reviews. Ferman was held personally liable for these violations.
A final order issued by the court imposes a monetary judgment of $48,280,328 against Seek Capital and Ferman; however, payment is suspended in part due to their inability to pay in full. If they are later found to have misrepresented their finances, they will owe the full amount.
Under this order, Seek Capital and Ferman are permanently prohibited from marketing or offering any form of business financing or related services; making false statements about affiliations or impacts on consumers’ credit; billing consumers without clear consent; violating telemarketing rules; or restricting consumer reviews.
The Commission approved the stipulated final order unanimously (3-0), filing it in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The court entered its final order on October 1, 2025.
Lead attorneys on this case included Maya Sequeira, Katherine Worthman, Julia Heald, and Sally Tieu from the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The FTC continues its mission to promote competition while protecting consumers through education efforts at consumer.ftc.gov and fraud reporting at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
