Baltimore sues publisher over alleged deceptive marketing

Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the City Council of Baltimore have filed a civil lawsuit against Agora Companies, LLC, a Baltimore-based newsletter publisher, alleging the firm targeted older adults with deceptive online marketing schemes that bilked customers with misleading marketing and subscription practices.

The complaint, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court, alleges Agora “bombards its target audience with unfair, deceptive, and abusive advertising about health supplements, financial newsletters, and expensive publications. Its marketing materials make baseless claims about the efficacy of and scientific support behind its products. It promises “100% money-back guarantee” and “risk free” trials, then systematically refuses to honor those terms when consumers realize they have been had.”

The lawsuit invokes Baltimore’s 2023 consumer protection ordinance that has previously been used against national gambling, financial and tobacco companies. Agora, based in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, is the first major Baltimore-based company targeted under the measure. The city is seeking civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation per day, consumer redress, and injunctive relief.

Agora released the following statement regarding the lawsuit:

“Agora is stunned by the filing of this lawsuit, having learned of it for the first time in the news media this morning. As a 47-year Baltimore company, we would have expected to have heard about any concerns from the City earlier than the filing of a lawsuit, given our long history as a Baltimore business and employer. We are still digesting the complaint, but we already see significant constitutional problems with the allegations – including under the First Amendment – and we are prepared to defend this case vigorously.”