U.S. News

The FTC Shut Down 15 Companies That Trapped Consumers in Hidden Subscriptions

By Mike Harper · June 22, 2026

The apps had names like Nebula, Wisey, MadMuscles, and PDF Guru. They were advertised as free or low-cost. They were not.

At the FTC’s request, a federal court temporarily halted a network of 15 corporations and eight individuals accused of running deceptive subscription schemes that hid recurring charges, billed consumers without authorization, and made cancellation deliberately difficult or impossible. The enterprise, led by Genesis Tech and its founder-CEOs Vladimir Mnogoletny and Vasily Ulianov, generated nearly $250 million in global revenue from just five of its products between early 2023 and mid-2025.

The scheme worked the same way regardless of the product. Consumers signed up for what appeared to be a free trial or a low one-time cost. The actual terms — auto-renewing subscriptions and recurring charges — were buried in the smallest text on the page. Once subscribed, cancellation options were removed from the app or website. Some consumers were double-charged. Others had additional products added to their accounts without consent.

The corporate structure was designed to make the enterprise untraceable. Genesis Tech operated through subsidiaries incorporated in Cyprus and operating in Ukraine, which marketed apps to American consumers. Payment processing ran through counterpart companies registered in Delaware. When fraud-monitoring systems caught up with one merchant account, the operators registered a new company and opened a fresh account. The FTC described it as “an ever-evolving web of Cyprus and Delaware shell companies.”

The apps covered a wide range: fitness and nutrition programs, PDF editing tools, an ADHD treatment program, a horoscope and psychic chat app, a fashion advice service. The common thread was not the product — it was the billing model.

“The Trump-Vance FTC is engaged in robust enforcement to address deception and illegal subscription offerings,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

If you’ve been charged by any of these companies:

Check your credit card and bank statements for recurring charges from MadMuscles, Harna, Unimeal, PDF Guru, PDF Master, Nebula, Wisey, or Lumi. If you find charges you didn’t authorize or subscriptions you cannot cancel, dispute the charges with your bank or credit card company. The court order freezing the enterprise’s operations means the companies cannot currently process new charges, but existing unauthorized charges on your statements should still be disputed through your financial institution.