Profiles · OversightControversial
- Type
- Person
- Role
- Oversight and enforcement
- Programs
- PPP
- Updated
The profile
Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection when the agency filed the Womply and Biz2Credit cases.
Individuals whose conduct was challenged or called into question during or after the pandemic. See sources: Womply stipulated order, April 3, 2024 Biz2Credit stipulated order, March 20, 2024
Identity and role
Samuel A.A. Levine served as Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection (2021 to 2025; DCWP leadership page capture, which gives the dates; the FTC biography names the role), the operating unit responsible for FTC v. OTO Analytics/Womply and the agency's COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act docket.
Biography / career arc
Consumer-protection lawyer; Illinois Attorney General work on predatory for-profit colleges; FTC Midwest Regional Office staff attorney; attorney adviser to Commissioner Rohit Chopra; BCP Director (2021 to 2025) (DCWP leadership page capture; FTC biography for the role); senior fellow at the UC Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice in 2025 (DCWP page); then NYC DCWP Commissioner from January 2026 (DCWP page).
Pandemic-relief / PPP-EIDL role
As BCP Director he oversaw the bureau that charged Toby Scammell and Womply with deceptive marketing of PPP-application services, and separately charged Biz2Credit and its subsidiary Itria Ventures. The Womply case settled for a $26 million judgment and the Biz2Credit case for $33 million; both orders carry permanent injunctions and "neither admit nor deny" clauses (court-filed orders). The line attorneys on the Womply case were Julia Heald, Katherine Worthman, and Paola Henry.
Where they are now (2025–2026)
Commissioner, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, since January 2026 (DCWP leadership page capture).
Sources held in this archive
Original source documents and archived captures
- FTC v. OTO Analytics — court-filed complaint (Womply), Mar. 18, 2024
- FTC v. OTO Analytics — stipulated order for permanent injunction and monetary judgment (ECF No. 10), filed Apr. 3, 2024
- FTC v. Biz2Credit — stipulated order for permanent injunction and monetary judgment (ECF No. 9), filed Mar. 20, 2024
- FTC v. Biz2Credit — court-filed complaint, Mar. 18, 2024
- FTC, Samuel Levine biography
- FTC — Womply, FTC v. case page
- NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, leadership page
Sources
- FTC, Samuel Levine biography: FTC, Samuel Levine biography (original: ftc.gov · stored capture)
- NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, leadership page: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, leadership page (original: nyc.gov · stored capture)
- FTC — Womply, FTC v. case page: FTC, Womply, FTC v. case page (original: ftc.gov · stored capture)