OnlineYellowPagesToday.com and the medical yellow directories
In March 2015 the FTC announced two actions. A Montreal operator behind OnlineYellowPagesToday.com settled, agreeing to a ban from the directory industry. Separately, a court froze the operations of nine entities and individuals accused of sending unordered invoices to medical practices, churches and retirement homes, generating more than 1,800 complaints.
- Year
- 2015
- Where
- Canada, United States
- Outcome
- Settled
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Business directory listing scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-21
The facts, as recorded
- Oni Nathifa Julien of Montreal settled on March 10, 2015 and was banned from the directory industry.
- The FTC alleged the operation contacted organisations claiming to confirm existing listings, then billed $479.95 or more using invoices that imitated yellow-pages imagery.
- When challenged, the FTC alleged, the operation played altered or incomplete audio recordings to suggest an employee had authorised the charge.
- The judgment of $3,081,969 was suspended because of inability to pay, and would become due if financial disclosures proved false.
- In the separate medical directories case, nine entities and individuals operated under names featuring 'American' and 'Yellow' and generated more than 1,800 complaints.
- Their invoices of about $480.95 carried a 'walking fingers' logo; follow-up demands of $2,385.95 warned 'LAST CHANCE TO PROTECT YOUR CREDIT SCORE' and came from a purported third-party collector, General Credit Protection Inc.
- A temporary restraining order issued on March 10, 2015 and a preliminary injunction on March 24, 2015.
- In December 2015 the FTC separately mailed 774 refund checks, over $444,000 (average $574.66), to victims of the Montreal-based Modern Technology Inc. (Online Public Yellow Pages) case.
Why this case matters
The escalation is the point. The first invoice was small; the second, five times larger, arrived with a credit threat and a “collection” name. That is the shape a victim recognises only after paying once.
The money side
Julien’s $3,081,969 judgment was suspended, so it does not represent money collected. The only documented repayment in these sources is the separate Modern Technology refund of more than $444,000.
The caveat
Everything here is what the FTC alleged. The Julien case settled, and the medical directories case is described in the release at the stage of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, so the sources read for this page do not show its final outcome. The defendants are civil defendants and the sources describe no criminal charge.
Sources
- FTC Halts Online 'Yellow Pages' Scammers. Federal Trade Commission. Accessed 2026-09-21. Supports: The Julien settlement and suspended judgment, the invoice amounts, altered audio recordings, the medical directories case, 1,800 complaints, the $2,385.95 demand and the March 2015 court orders.
- FTC Returns Money to Consumers Conned into Paying for Business Directory Listings. Federal Trade Commission. Accessed 2026-09-21. Supports: The separate Modern Technology Inc. case and the December 2015 refunds: 774 checks, over $444,000, average $574.66.