Humboldt Merchant Services FTC $12M payment-processor settlement (11 Sep 2026)
On 8 September 2026 the FTC announced, and on 11 September 2026 the Eastern District of Michigan entered, a stipulated order requiring 5967 Ventures, LLC d/b/a Humboldt Merchant Services to pay $12 million and accept permanent bans on processing for certain high-risk merchant categories. Complaint alleges Humboldt processed payments for more than 1,000 shell merchants used in unauthorized-billing scams (including Legion Media fronts), with over $100 million through sham accounts 2021–2023. FTC case status Closed; funds for consumer redress; no public claim form in the press package as of 5 Oct 2026; no affiliate.
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Summary
Humboldt Merchant Services FTC $12M payment-processor settlement (11 Sep 2026)
On 8 September 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced that payment processor Humboldt Merchant Services (legal entity 5967 Ventures, LLC) will pay $12 million and accept permanent restrictions to settle allegations that it processed payments for sham merchants used in unauthorized-billing scams. On 11 September 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan entered the stipulated order; the FTC case page lists status Closed. ShopperCove is not a party to the case, has not held a Humboldt merchant account, and has not contacted Humboldt or FTC staff for this article. The facts below come from the FTC’s 8 September 2026 press release, the case page, the complaint PDF, and the stipulated order PDF, all read on 5 October 2026. Complaint theories are allegations unless a court has already adjudicated them. This is not legal advice.
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Who the FTC sued
From the case page:
- Defendant: 5967 Ventures, LLC, a limited liability company, d/b/a Humboldt Merchant Services
- Venue: Eastern District of Michigan (Case No. 2:26-cv-13303 on the complaint PDF)
- Commission vote approving filing of the proposed order: 2–0 (press release)
What the FTC alleged
From the press release and complaint (allegations):
- Humboldt processed payments for more than 1,000 merchants that were shell entities / fronts or pass-throughs for fraudulent companies engaged in unauthorized billing scams—including schemes tied to Legion Media, which the FTC shut down in 2024.
- From 2021 through 2023 alone, Humboldt allegedly processed over 139 million through a large set of Reseller Consultants–linked shell accounts (Jan 2021–Jan 2024) listed in Appendix A.
- Humboldt allegedly opened/maintained accounts despite red flags (straw signers, UPS-store mailboxes, formulaic LLC names, “travel pack” / bank-page websites) and chargeback rates almost 10× what card brands view as excessive; mid-2021 Performance Marketing accounts on an affiliated lower-risk BIN allegedly showed >7% chargebacks.
- Humboldt allegedly moved Performance Marketing volume onto a lower-risk bank BIN used by affiliate NorthAB / NAB to raise approval ratios, and pursued “travel pack” applications that masked negative-option trial billing after Mastercard’s MCC 5968 rules.
- Charge: unfair payment-processing practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
What the stipulated order requires (high level)
From the press release and stipulated order:
- Monetary judgment: $12,000,000 in favor of the Commission; payment within 7 days of entry (counsel held funds in escrow).
- Permanent bans / prohibitions include:
- Engaging in or assisting credit card laundering
- Payment processing for straw companies; merchants on the Mastercard MATCH list for reasons including excessive chargebacks, laundering, and fraud; merchants subject to law enforcement action; and certain e-commerce entities that use third-party mailbox providers (e.g. UPS stores) as their only business location and either use negative option billing, are new, or lack past processing history
- Making or assisting false or misleading information to obtain payment processing
- Tactics to avoid fraud/risk monitoring, including load balancing
- Sales-agent oversight and screening program requirements (see order text)
Who gets paid — and who does not (yet)
- The press release frames the $12 million for consumer redress.
- As of sources read 5 October 2026, the press release and case page do not publish a live public claim form or “check your eligibility” portal for this settlement.
- Do not treat cold DMs, “Humboldt refund portal” lookalikes, or paid “claim facilitators” as official until an FTC redress page says otherwise.
- Report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Why ShopperCove is covering this
October FTC coverage already includes fuel-card fees (FleetCor/Corpay), subscriptions (Amazon Prime), Robinson-Patman (Southern Glazer’s), junk fees (Lens.com), MLM/loyalty, and the sibling processor matter Nuvei ($4.85M / Pending). Humboldt is the larger Closed processor settlement in the same window: alleged facilitation of shell / unauthorized-billing merchants rather than tech-support telemarketing alone. Not a CPSC recall; primary sources are FTC press + case filings.
Bottom line
As of 5 October 2026, 5967 Ventures / Humboldt Merchant Services has an entered FTC stipulated order with a $12 million monetary judgment over alleged processing for sham merchants used in unauthorized billing. Filed in E.D. Michigan; FTC case status Closed (order entered 11 Sep 2026); redress intended for consumers; no public claim form in the press package yet. Read the press release and case page. No affiliate.
Sources
- 01ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Humboldt-StipulatedOrder.pdf
- 02ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Humboldt-Complaint.pdf
- 03ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/humboldt-merchant-services-timeline-item-2026-09-11
Related
- 01shoppercove.com/blog/fleetcor-corpay-ftc-100m-fuel-card-settlement-october-2026
- 02shoppercove.com/blog/amazon-prime-ftc-refund-200-october-2026
- 03shoppercove.com/blog/southern-glazers-ftc-robinson-patman-settlement-october-2026
- 04shoppercove.com/blog/lens-com-ftc-hidden-fees-lawsuit-october-2026
- 05shoppercove.com/blog/amway-ftc-225m-mlm-settlement-october-2026
- 06shoppercove.com/blog/corteva-ftc-pesticide-loyalty-settlement-october-2026
- 07shoppercove.com/blog/ftc-impersonation-rule-anpr-platforms-ads-september-2026
- 08shoppercove.com/blog/amazon-ftc-secret-ad-surcharge-lawsuit-august-2026
Lab evidence
What I found running this
Sources read 5 Oct 2026 (Asia/Calcutta) via WebFetch: FTC press 8 Sep 2026; case page Open ftc.gov (status Closed; E.D. Mich.; caption FTC v. 5967 Ventures, LLC d/b/a Humboldt Merchant Services); complaint PDF filed 8 Sep 2026 (Case No. 2:26-cv-13303); stipulated order entered by court 11 Sep 2026 with $12,000,000 monetary judgment payable within 7 days. Complaint theories labeled as allegations. No Humboldt merchant account held; no purchase; no claim form found in press package. Diversifies vs Nuvei (sibling processor, Pending/$4.85M) and FleetCor/Amway/Corteva/Southern Glazer’s/Lens.com/Amazon Prime—payment-processor facilitation of sham merchants / unauthorized billing, not CPSC.
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