The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a motion in federal court seeking to hold Cliq, Inc., formerly known as Cardflex, Inc., and its executives, CEO Andrew Phillips and Chief Technology and Security Officer John Blaugrund, in contempt for systematically violating a 2015 order.

The FTC alleges that Cliq has failed to comply with the order, which was designed to prevent fraudulent activities in payment processing. The agency is asking the court to impose at least $52.9 million in compensatory relief for consumers and to modify the 2015 order to permanently ban Phillips and Blaugrund from the payment processing industry.

According to FTC Director Christopher Mufarrige, Cliq and its operators have blatantly disregarded the order by processing payments for merchants that were explicitly prohibited, including those with high chargeback rates. The FTC's allegations include processing hundreds of millions of dollars in payments for clients on Mastercard’s MATCH list, which identifies merchants that have violated card brand rules.

Furthermore, the FTC claims that Cliq assisted clients in evading fraud detection measures and failed to adequately screen high-risk clients for deceptive practices. The agency argues that these actions not only violate the 2015 order but also distort the integrity of the U.S. payment system.

The motion has been filed in the U.S. District Court for Nevada, and the FTC is determined to hold the involved parties accountable for their actions.