WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission moved aggressively on multiple fronts this week, announcing a sweeping settlement with one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers, returning nearly $23 million to defrauded real estate investors, and delivering a new warning to Congress about the growing threat of ransomware and cyberattacks.
In a landmark action unveiled February 4, the FTC reached a settlement with Express Scripts, Inc. that the agency said will force fundamental changes to its business practices and could reduce patients’ out-of-pocket drug costs by as much as $7 billion over the next decade. The agreement resolves a lawsuit accusing Express Scripts of artificially inflating insulin list prices through anticompetitive rebating practices that shifted costs onto vulnerable patients.
Under the proposed consent order, Express Scripts agreed to stop favoring higher-priced versions of identical drugs, offer plans that base patient cost-sharing on net prices rather than inflated list prices, increase disclosures to plan sponsors, and move to a more transparent reimbursement model for community pharmacies. The company will also reshore its group purchasing organization, Ascent, from Switzerland to the United States, a move the FTC said will return more than $750 billion in purchasing activity to the U.S. over the life of the order.
FTC officials said the enforcement action is part of a broader case alleging that major PBMs, including Caremark Rx and OptumRx, created a system that rewarded higher list prices and rebates rather than lower net prices, driving up costs for patients whose copays and coinsurance are tied to list prices.
The Commission voted 1-0 to accept the Express Scripts consent agreement for public comment, with one commissioner recused. The public will have 30 days to submit comments, which will be posted on Regulations.gov.
A day later, on February 5, the FTC announced it is returning nearly $23 million to consumers nationwide who were deceived into buying overseas real estate lots marketed as part of the Sanctuary Belize and Kanantik developments. The agency said it is mailing 1,659 checks, with average payments of $16,462 to Sanctuary Belize investors and $6,346.39 to Kanantik investors.
The refunds stem from a long-running case in which the FTC charged that the developers falsely promoted the projects as luxury investments while failing to deliver promised amenities. A federal court ultimately found that the defendants took in more than $100 million through deceptive claims, a ruling later upheld on appeal. Consumers receiving checks have 60 days to cash them, the FTC said.
On February 6, the Commission also sent Congress its second report under the RANSOMWARE Act, detailing the agency’s expanding role in combating ransomware and other cyber-related attacks. The report highlights more than 90 FTC data security enforcement actions to date, along with settlements involving companies such as GoDaddy and Illuminate Education, and outlines ongoing efforts to pursue tech support scammers and educate consumers and businesses on cybersecurity risks.
The 2025 ransomware report is available at https://www.ftc.gov/reports/ftcs-efforts-greater-fight-against-ransomware-cyber-related-attacks-update-2025. The Commission voted 2-0 to approve the report.
Together, the actions reflect an assertive stretch for the FTC, as it targets drug pricing practices, delivers restitution to fraud victims, and escalates its fight against cybercrime impacting consumers and businesses nationwide.
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