DAVOS WATCH: Week of meetings, speeches enters last day

DAVOS, Switzerland — The World Economic Forum held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos has the official goal of "improving the state of the world." In practice, it's a massive networking event that brings together 2,500 heads of state, business leaders, philanthropists and artists.

Here are some glimpses of what's happening and being discussed at Davos on Saturday, the forum's last day:

STATE OF MIND

Sitting in silence on a chair and thinking of nothing is not something you'd think people come to do at Davos.

But that's what dozens of business leaders, politicians and power brokers do every morning at a meditation session that kicks off the daily schedule.

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present, to the sensations in the body and calming the mind. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who has helped popularize the practice around the world, based on Buddhist and Yoga traditions, leads the sessions.

The meditation helps, among other things, to reduce stress — something a lot of participants at the World Economic Forum can use after a long week of back-to-back meetings.

-By Carlo Piovano, Twitter: www.twitter.com/cpiovano

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Fake schools draw scrutiny of federal investigators

SAN FRANCISCO — From her hometown in India in 2010, Bhanu Challa said she had no reason to doubt that Tri-Valley University was a legitimate American school where she could pursue a master's degree. Its website featured smiling students in caps and gowns and promised a leafy campus in a San Francisco Bay Area suburb.

Months later, her hands were in cuffs as federal investigators questioned her motives for being in the U.S. Authorities told her that Tri-Valley was a sham school. It was selling documents that allowed foreigners to obtain U.S. student visas, and in some cases work in the country, while providing almost no instruction, according to federal investigators.

"I was blank, totally blank ...," she said, recalling her shock. "I didn't know what to do, who I could approach."

Tri-Valley is among at least half a dozen schools shut down or raided by federal authorities in recent years over allegations of immigration fraud. Like Tri-Valley, they had obtained permission from U.S. immigration officials to admit foreign students.

But most offered little or no instruction or didn't require all students to attend classes, instead exploiting the student visa system for profit, investigators said.

"If there's a way to make a buck, some people will do it," said Brian Smeltzer, chief of the Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Last year alone, Smeltzer said, his office flagged about 150 of the roughly 9,000 schools certified to accept foreign students for investigation as potential visa mills.

Meltzer said many of the schools the agency investigates are in California, which has the highest number of foreign students and schools certified to accept them. New York has the second most.

Government watchdogs say the recent visa fraud cases have exposed gaps in ICE's oversight of schools that admit foreign students — a problem the agency says is being corrected. And experts say the scams hurt the reputation of the U.S. higher education system, which currently enrolls about 900,000 foreign students.

"If anybody has any illusions there was one just bad apple, that's not the case," said Barmak Nassirian, director of federal policy analysis with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. "There are plenty of them out there."

At California Union University in Fullerton, owner Samuel Chai Cho Oh staged phony graduation ceremonies as part of a visa scheme, according to immigration officials. He pleaded guilty to visa fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to a year in prison in 2011.

At College Prep Academy in Duluth, Georgia, president Dong Seok Yi conspired to enroll some women with the understanding they would not attend classes, but work at bars, prosecutors alleged. He was convicted of immigration document fraud and sentenced last year to 21 months in prison.

Investigators say Tri-Valley, with more than 1,000 students, many Indian nationals, was among the largest school fraud scams they have encountered. The school's founder and president, Susan Xiao-Ping Su, used more than $5.6 million she made in the scam to buy commercial real estate, a Mercedes Benz and multiple homes, federal prosecutors said.

She was sentenced in October to 16 years in prison after a conviction on visa fraud and other charges. The school is now closed.

The Tri-Valley case also sparked protests in India, where officials objected to U.S. authorities placing ankle monitors on former students. Investigators say they believe some students were cheated out of an education, but others were happy to be in the U.S. whether they learned much or not.

Jerry Wang, CEO of another San Francisco Bay Area school, Herguan University in Sunnyvale, is also facing visa fraud charges. Prosecutors say he provided federal officials with false employment information about students, transcripts and a letter purporting to show another school accepted Herguan's credits. He has pleaded not guilty, and the school remains open.

His attorney, James Brosnahan, said the allegations against his client are completely untrue. "It is a very real university," he said, noting that it recently was accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

The organization confirmed that the school was accredited.

To be certified by immigration officials to accept foreign students, schools must be accredited by a Department of Education-approved organization or have their courses accepted by at least three accredited schools.

A 2012 Government Accountability Office report said ICE was not always verifying letters purporting to show the school's courses were accepted elsewhere. It also said ICE was failing to analyze schools for patterns pointing to fraud. The agency now verifies every school credit letter and has developed a tool to assess the seriousness of any school violations.

"We've put in a greater system of checks and balances," said Carissa Cutrell, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security Investigations' Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

At Tri-Valley, Challa said she paid nearly $3,000 for her first semester, but never received an assignment or an exam. She was unhappy that she wasn't learning and was taking steps to transfer when the school was raided in 2011. She later completed her MBA and is now working in the U.S.

"I had to pursue my studies here, I had to get a job," she said. "I was the first person in my family to come to the U.S."

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Added protections for consumer information on health website

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration appears to be making broader changes to protect consumer information on the government's health insurance website, after objections from lawmakers and privacy advocates.

The Associated Press reported last week that details such as consumers' income and tobacco use were going to private companies with a commercial interest in such data.

AP also reported that a number of companies had embedded connections on HealthCare.gov, raising privacy and security issues for some tech experts.

An independent analysis of the health care website, released Saturday, showed that the number of embedded connections to private companies had dropped from 50 to 30.

Those changes accompanied another shift by the administration to curtail the release of specific personal information from the website. The AP reported that change Friday.

After failing to respond to interview requests, the administration posted a statement Saturday evening. HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan acknowledged that privacy questions have been raised, and added: "We are looking at whether there are additional steps we should take to improve our efforts. While this process is ongoing, we have taken action that we believe helps further increase consumer privacy."

Officials have said the sole purpose of embedded connections to private companies was to monitor HealthCare.gov and improve performance for consumers.

The episode could become a blemish on what's otherwise shaping up as a successful open enrollment season for the second year of expanded coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law.

Lawmakers continue to insist on a full explanation.

HealthCare.gov is used by millions to sign up for subsidized private coverage under the law, or to merely browse for insurance plans in their communities.

The changes by the administration mean that the website is no longer explicitly sending out such details as age, income, ZIP code, tobacco use and whether a woman is pregnant.

An independent tech expert said Saturday that a new analysis by his firm also found a sharp drop in the number of embedded connections to outside companies.

Mehdi Daoudi, CEO of Catchpoint Systems, which measures website performance, said that was down from 50 to 30 such connections. Catchpoint had previously analyzed the performance of HealthCare.gov for AP, and found the site was much improved. But Daoudi had raised questions about the high number of third-party connections.

Cooper Quintin, a staff technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group, said the changes are "a great first step," but more needs to be done.

For example, the health site should disable third-party tracking for people who enable the "do not track" feature on their web browsers. "HealthCare.gov should meet good privacy standards for all its users," he said.

Privacy advocates say the mere presence of connections to private companies on the government's website — even if they don't explicitly receive personal data — should be examined because of their ability to reveal sensitive information about a user.

Administration officials did not answer AP's questions about how the government monitors the outside companies. They only said that third parties must agree they will not use the information for their own business purposes.

Third-party outfits that track website performance are a standard part of e-commerce. It's a lucrative business, helping Google, Facebook and others tailor ads to customers' interests. Because your computer and mobile devices can be assigned an individual signature, profiles of Internet users can be pieced together, generating lists that have commercial value.

The third-parties embedded on HealthCare.gov can't see your name, birth date or Social Security number. But they may be able to correlate the fact that your computer accessed the government website with your other Internet activities.

Have you been researching a chronic illness such as coronary artery blockage? Do you shop online for smoking-cessation aids? Are you investigating genetic markers for a certain type of breast cancer? Are you seeking help for financial problems, or for an addiction?

Google told the AP it doesn't allow its systems to target ads based on medical information.

After AP's first report, Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called the situation "extremely concerning" for consumers. Grassley said Friday it's still unclear how consumers' information is being used and he wants a full explanation.

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services had at first defended their information-sharing practices. There is no evidence that consumers' personal information was misused, they said.

The website's privacy policy says in boldface type that no "personally identifiable information" is collected by outside Web measurement tools. That is a term defined in government regulations, but other personal details were being allowed through.

HealthCare.gov is the online gateway to government-subsidized private insurance for people who lack coverage on the job. It serves 37 states, while the remaining states operate their own insurance markets. The privacy concerns surfaced just as the president was calling for stronger Internet safeguards for consumers, in his State of the Union speech.

The website was crippled by serious technical problems when it made its debut in the fall of 2013. This year it has worked much better, a marked contrast. The administration is aiming to have more than 9 million people signed up by Feb. 15, the last day of open enrollment.

But the privacy issues were a reminder that the website remains a work in progress, like the underlying law that created it.

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Acura TLX more than sporty sedan

The longer I drove this car, the more I liked it. And, as it revealed more of its personality to me, the more I realized the subtle sophistication of the 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD.

From the fuel-efficient yet powerful 3.5-liter 290-hp VTEC V­6 turbo engine to the excellent all-wheel drive to the quiet, tight upscale cabin, Acura has done an excellent job of blending the popular TL and TSX sedans to produce this terrific-driving car.

My first inkling that I was driving more than just a well made sports-styled sedan was when I ran through an hour of heavy rain and noticed how well the car handled in the river of water on the highway. Despite the lower profile 18-inch 225/50 tires, the all-wheel drive kept me connected to the road, not hydroplaning or skittering.

The fantastic steering response and tight cornering came next. The chassis and suspension channeled a racing profile, pulling the car flat through turns and minimizing body roll. Capping the driving experience was the quick and powerful engine mated to a silky smooth 9-speed transmission. I ran the car in all five driving modes from economy, which delivered well over 30 miles per gallon on the highway, to sport, and loved that the engine was spirited in all modes.

Cabin fit and finish also grew on me. The comfortable leather-clad ventilated seats, wood inlays and aluminum trim smartly accented the conservative interior. The textured plastics and dash framed a two-gauge cluster that included the speedometer and tach. Electronic information gauges were embedded on the display and toggled through steering wheel controls.

Acura engineers have not forgotten safety in the TLX. The standard Tech and Advance Packages include lane departure, back-up camera, adaptive cruise control, heads-up warning when someone gets too close, blind-spot monitoring, rear pedestrian crossing alerts and collision mitigation braking for in-town driving.

The center 
console-mounted push-button gear selector for the automatic transmission took some getting used to and even after a few days into the test period I still occasionally went looking for a gear shifter. I also found the infotainment center a bit confusing to use despite the touch screen panel.

The trunk was spacious despite the visually shorter lid, but some rear seat legroom suffered for it. The car has superb curb appeal and Acura has reclaimed some of the angular lines of the popular mid 2000s TL, sharpening the softer, rounded fenders from the previous car. The trademark chrome beak, a design that drew so much criticism in the previous generation TL it forced a mid-cycle rework, is much smaller. With the new LED headlamps, the entire nose of the car is much more sporty and aerodynamic.

A base model TLX starts at a MSRP of $31,445 while our loaded version hit $45,595, making this a must drive when comparing sporty sedans such as the BMW 328 and Audi A4. Acura may have hit on a worthy competitor.

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Nevada considering strict condom regulation for porn films

LAS VEGAS — Adult film production migrated from California to Nevada after voters in Los Angeles County approved a law requiring condom use on set. Now, a condom use requirement could follow.

Nevada health officials said Friday that they're considering strict brothel-style regulations for a booming adult film industry following the announcement last month that two male performers tested positive for HIV following a video shoot in the state.

"The potential exists to require condoms and other barrier options in all sexual contact," state Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Mary Woods said in a statement.

The idea that porn stars might have to wear protection in productions filmed in Nevada generated a buzz among some of the 25,000 attendees collecting autographs from porn stars posing in fishnet stockings and bustiers at this week's Adult Video News Expo at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

"I prefer no condoms," said Rob Tatka, a 29-year-old tourist from Chicago who collected a bag full of posters of his favorite stars to take home. "Porn is about fantasy," he said, "and honestly, no man wants to use one in real life."

Condoms can cause friction, irritation or even infection during scenes that take hours to film before being edited, said Keiran Lee, a veteran male performer who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.

Lee, 31, said he sometimes shoots 22 scenes a month. "I have the option to use them, but I don't," he said.

Woods, in the health department statement, said it could take up to two years to collect data and public comment about the Nevada proposals, and she called it too early to know the outcome of the process.

But for conference attendees enjoying a city synonymous with sin — and a state home to the only legalized prostitution in the nation — the idea of putting condoms on actors and categorizing adult entertainment production with brothels drew criticism.

Porn actors aren't prostitutes, said Diane Duke, chief executive of the Free Speech Coalition, an industry trade group that administers strict HIV testing and a database showing pass-fail results. Duke said the database lists 6,000 porn performers since 2011.

"In a brothel, you're talking about people coming in from outside," she said. "We have performers on a closed set who go through a testing protocol."

Duke said that since 2004, there have been no documented cases of HIV transmission during scenes between professional actors in the FSC database.

The two men involved in last year's case weren't in the FSC database, Duke said. Authorities have said it appeared likely one infected the other during an unprotected gay sex scene. Details haven't been made public.

Actress Ariana Marie, 21, said she trusts the results. She said she's been in scenes with and without condoms, and called it distracting to have her partner stop to take one off at the end.

"We get tested every 14 days," Marie said. "I trust my performer."

Prostitution is legal in rural Nevada counties but not in Las Vegas and Reno. Nevada health officials say a strict testing regimen prevents transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and has never resulted in a documented case of HIV transmission in a brothel.

If porn production is regulated under the same rules, condom use would be required for all sex acts, including oral sex. Adult film performers, like Nevada's licensed prostitutes, would be required to undergo weekly testing for the sexually transmitted diseases chlamydia and gonorrhea, and monthly testing for HIV and syphilis.

Nevada currently has no rules specifically covering pornography production. And no permit is needed to film on private property, a home or in a hotel room, according to the state film office.

That made Nevada attractive to West Coast adult film producers worried about losing fans like Tatka following the adoption in Los Angeles of strict rules requiring condom use in adult film sex scenes filmed there.

After voters in Los Angeles County approved the condom requirement in 2012, the number of permits for adult films in Los Angeles dropped dramatically, from 485 in 2012 to 40 in 2013.

Meanwhile, the number of general permits for all film productions in Clark County, including Las Vegas, jumped more than 50 percent, from 226 in 2012 to 343 in 2013.

Nevada Film Office analyst Kim Spurgeon in Las Vegas said officials don't tally the number of adult film productions by category. There were 400 film production permits issued in Clark County in 2014, she said.

Problems were inevitable, said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that serves California and Nevada.

Although the foundation was a catalyst for passage of the Los Angeles law, Weinstein professed no desire to kill the adult film industry.

"We're not against porn," Weinstein said in a telephone interview. "We want it to be safer. We think porn sends the wrong message to young people that the only kind of sex that's hot is unsafe sex."

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British Airways parent makes 3rd takeover bid for Aer Lingus

DUBLIN — Officials say the parent company of British Airways has made a third, improved takeover approach to Irish airline Aer Lingus and an announcement of the offer is expected Monday.

The 2.50 euro ($2.80) per share offer by IAG values the Dublin-based carrier at 1.3 billion euros ($1.45 billion). Over the past month Aer Lingus has rejected two lower-priced proposals from IAG, created in 2009 by the merger of British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia.

Officials from IAG and Aer Lingus confirmed the value of Friday's improved offer to The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because they were not authorized to disclose details in advance of Monday's anticipated announcements to stock exchanges in London and Dublin.

Aer Lingus' two biggest shareholders are Ryanair and the Irish government.

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Boston eyes home-rental rules

As Boston considers regulating home-rental services such as Airbnb, legislation has been filed on Beacon Hill that would require homeowners to have insurance and pay a tourism tax if they want to open their doors to paying guests.

"It's trying to create a safe and secure environment while allowing these operations to continue to thrive," said state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, co-author of the bill. "It's a bill that will regulate short-term residential rentals in a similar fashion as hotels are regulated. This bill would simply level the playing field with short-term rentals."

The bill would require people who list their homes on website services such as Airbnb to:

• Register with their city or town.

• Have $500,000 in liability insurance.

• Pay a 5 percent tax that would go toward funding tourism. Individual cities and towns could implement their own tax as well.

"There would be a registration process that would be made to make sure consumers felt safe during their stays," Michlewitz said.

The tax, he said, would "allow the state and the cities and municipalities the opportunity to tap into unrealized revenues."

In a statement, a spokesman for Airbnb said the company is open to some regulations.

"We strongly support smart regulations and believe any policy should ensure regular people can share their home without unnecessary restrictions," said Nick Papas. He said the company is reviewing the proposed legislation.

If the bill succeeds, Massachusetts would be one of the first states to regulate the industry. Until now, most of the regulation has been at the city level. The Boston City Council, which is considering regulating Airbnb, has scheduled a public hearing tomorrow on the issue.

Airbnb said 33,780 guests stayed in Boston last year, resulting in $51 million in economic benefit to the city.

The regulations in the state bill are almost identical to regulations passed in San Francisco, which require registration, a tax and liability insurance. Last year, the New York attorney general said that three quarters of Airbnb rentals were likely illegal under current state law.

Neighbors for Overnight Oversight, a national group advocating for increased regulations of Airbnb, applauded the Bay State's move to regulate the industry.

"Generally this is a step in the right direction," said spokesman Conor Yunits. "We support legislation that addresses legitimate public safety concerns, prevents illegal hotels from occupying our neighborhoods and institutes some of the regulatory obligations others in the lodging industry adhere to. We welcome this progress and look forward to working with the Legislature on this issue."

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Answers to common questions about cars in winter

There have been numerous articles recently about warming up vehicles before driving in the winter. I understand doing so makes problems for the environment and is not necessary. The best way is to just drive them. But what about folks who only drive three miles to work? My '08 Hyundai Sonata barely gets heat by the time I get to work if I don't at least let it run for a couple minutes. By letting it run, I am allowing the natural moisture in the air in my engine to evaporate due to heat to prevent further problems down the road. Is there any validity to allow the moisture to evaporate?

Absolutely. Short drives in cold weather leave significant moisture condensed into water and not evaporated from the engine crankcase and exhaust system. From a mechanical and environmental perspective, no significant stationary warm-up/idle period is necessary. In fact, engines and components come up to temperature more quickly, producing better fuel economy and lower emissions when driven gently up to temperature.

There are two scenarios where an extended warm-up prior to driving is useful — at the start of a short drive as you've described or due to a medical/age necessity. Both are completely valid reasons to let a car warm up before driving, and will not harm the vehicle.

One option for you is to plan a 20-minute drive at least once a week to completely evaporate any moisture from the engine and exhaust. This will help prolong the life of exhaust system components and the positive crankcase ventilation system (PCV).

On the subject of longevity, why not plan a round trip to the car wash once a week or so (except in subfreezing temperatures) to not only to bring the vehicle up to full operating temperature, but also to remove the ice and salt from the chassis to reduce the potential for rust?

Is it OK to store a car over the winter while connected to a battery tender with the battery not disconnected?

The benefit to leaving the battery connected is no loss of on-board computer memories — radio presets, seat position, HVAC settings, idle learn, etc. All these are quickly re-established once the vehicle is put back in service.

The only potential downside, in my opinion, is the risk of fire due to some type of electrical problem/short circuit.

Is the use of a 9-volt dry cell battery plugged into the cigarette lighter or charging outlet OK when changing the battery? Is it necessary?

Why bother? When power is reconnected, the computer systems re-learn very quickly.

My 2013 Chrysler minivan calls for 35 psi cold tire pressure. A week before Thanksgiving I added air due to a large drop in temp. I watched tire pressure increase from 35 psi to 45 psi as I drove south for the holiday. Back north the tire pressure was back to 35 psi. I would like to know what rule of thumb one should use for an upper limit on tire pressure.

Having raced on high performance street tires for decades, I can tell you there is no risk to a passenger car tire operating at even 50 psi. So, no worries. The short period of higher cold tire pressures theoretically may cause a slightly higher wear rate on the center of the tread, but that is far less of a concern than operating the tire well below its specified pressure due to lower ambient air temperatures.

The rule of thumb is a 1- to 2-pound loss of pressure for every 10-degree F. drop in air temperature.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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Consumer agency gets an incomplete on mortgage advice

WASHINGTON — When the federal government's consumer protection agency for financial matters tells you how to shop for a good deal on a home mortgage, you should follow the advice, right?

Maybe some of it. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created in the backwash of the worst national mortgage disaster since the Great Depression, went online with a new interactive mortgage tool last week. The CFPB's site (www.consumerfinance.gov) offers helpful tips on shopping and has a guide to loan alternatives, closing costs and a "rate checker" feature.

At first glance, the rate checker appears to be a quick way to research prevailing mortgage interest rates in your area. Here's how it works: You enter the state where you want to apply, a FICO credit score estimate, your desired loan amount and the loan term. The rate checker then displays the local daily rate quotes collected from banks and credit unions by its data vendor, Informa Research Services Inc. of Calabasas, Calif.

Say you live in Virginia or California and want to see what rate you might get on a $400,000 house purchase with a $40,000 down payment. You input your estimated credit score. Say you've got a FICO 680. In Virginia, according to the rate checker readout Jan.16, "most lenders" in the survey would quote you 3.875 percent or less for a 30-year fixed-rate loan. Two lenders offered 3.625 percent and six quoted between 4 percent and 4.375 percent.

In California, most lenders also quoted 3.875 percent or less, one quoted 3.75 percent and five came in between 4 and 4.375 percent. None went as low as 3.625 percent.

But something important is missing here: The various fees and charges that the CFPB itself requires lenders to disclose as part of any mortgage quote to a consumer. As regulator of the Truth in Lending Act, CFPB regulations mandate precise disclosures of loan discount fees or "points" and lender closing charges among others. (A point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.) These are included in the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) — the effective rate applicants will be paying over the life of the loan.

When lenders advertise their rates, they must include the APR along with the base interest rate. There may be other charges that come into the total cost picture as well, such as lender-paid mortgage insurance and investor "overlay" add-ons.

So how big a deal could it be when only the interest rate is provided? In a statement for this column, Quicken Loans, the second largest retail lender in the country, said that quoting a rate alone, with no reference to specific points, fees and the APR, "will deliver a cost estimate that greatly differs from what is accurate." Steve Stamets, senior mortgage banker for Apex Home Loans, Rockville, Md., told me "it's inherently misleading because you're not getting all the potential charges" you're going to have to pay.

For example, said Stamets, a loan officer might violate CFPB rules by quoting a 
3 percent rate on a hypothetical $400,000 loan to pull in customers, but not mention that to obtain that rate they will need to pay 5 points — $20,000. Those points could be paid at settlement or financed and included in the interest rate. In the latter case, using one rule of thumb measure, the effective rate on the loan might jump to 
4.25 percent, not the 3 percent advertised.

David Stevens, CEO and president of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in an interview that CFPB's rate checker's failure to disclose full costs "violates everything a lender must do" to quote rates to borrowers in compliance with the agency's own rules. "It's just a bad idea," he said. "It needs to come down."

But the CFPB shows no signs of yielding to critics. In a statement for this column, the agency said the rates quoted "assume" discount points ranging between one half a point to minus one half a point "and a 60-day rate lock," but do not include lender closing charges. Dave Hershman, a nationally known trainer and author who helps mortgage companies comply with the rules, scoffed at the CFPB's defense: "Could you imagine (the bureau) allowing a mortgage company to be that nebulous? And to quote rates without an APR?"

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Label case filed vs. Utz products

Two Bay Staters are accusing potato chip giant Utz Quality Foods of mislabeling its products as "all natural," alleging in a complaint that some of them are made from genetically modified ingredients.

Matt DiFrancesco and Angela Mizzoni filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Hanover, Pa.-based company earlier this month. The suit claims they and others have suffered financial losses because Utz's "'All Natural' representations are deceptive, false, misleading, and unfair to consumers," according to the complaint.

"It's not a secret that consumers want things that are natural — that are healthier — and that's why these companies typically put this type of advertising on their label," said Tina Wolfson, the lead attorney in the case. "That's how they are able to command a higher price."

The plaintiffs are seeking at least $5 million, according to the complaint. They have also asked Utz to stop marketing its products as all natural and "conduct a corrective advertising campaign."

Utz and its attorneys did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

This is not the first false-labeling case that Wolfson has brought. In 2013 she reached a $9 million settlement in a class action against PepsiCo Inc.'s Naked Juice Co. The company was accused of misleading consumers about the "all natural" content of its products.

Utz is also accused of incorrectly labeling more than 40 of its products as "all natural."

"The market for natural products is large and ever growing and consumers are willing to pay a premium for products they believe to be natural, healthy and/or organic," the complaint alleges. "Gleaning more than $89.4 billion dollars in revenue in 2013 alone, the industry grew ten-and-a-half percent from 2012, revealing that consumers' desire for natural products is huge and continues to grow."

The suit claims that Utz's products contain a variety of genetically modified ingredients, including modified corn starch, maltodextrin and others. The complaint says Utz breached an express warranty, was unjustly enriched by its false advertising and violated Massachusetts' unfair and deceptive practices law.

"The problem is that the FDA has not given very specific definitions on what natural means and what standards companies need to meet," Wolfson said. "Unfortunately, products that under any definition would not be called natural are being called all natural."

UTZ has not yet filed a response to the complaint and has until Feb. 23 to do so.

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