Back in April, I wrote a long breakdown of why Seek Capital wasn’t some “startup funding platform” with magical connections to lenders—just another credit-card-stacking boiler room hiding behind buzzwords.
Turns out the FTC agreed.
On November 17, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Seek Capital and its CEO Roy Ferman are permanently banned from offering any form of business financing, debt relief, credit repair, telemarketing, or anything even resembling financial services.
They’re gone. Forever.
And the court didn’t just wag a finger. It hit them with a $48 million judgment, partially suspended only because the company claims it can’t pay the whole thing. If they lied about that? They owe the full amount.
This wasn’t a slap on the wrist.
This was a regulatory execution.
Let’s walk through what they did, how it lines up with the entire “credit card stacking” ecosystem I wrote about earlier this month, and what small business owners should learn from this mess.
1. What the Court Found: Seek Capital Lied About Everything That Mattered
A federal court granted the FTC summary judgment on almost every count. Translation: the evidence was so overwhelming the judge didn’t even need a trial.
Seek Capital was found to have:
- Fabricated “special relationships” with lenders
- Claimed access to “lines of credit” that didn’t exist
- Promised 0% APR business financing they couldn’t deliver
- Told clients they charged “no upfront fees” (they did)
- Opened credit cards in clients’ names without real consent
- Harmed customers’ credit scores through shotgun applications
- Forced gag clauses banning negative reviews for 3 years
- Violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule
- Violated the Consumer Review Fairness Act
- Committed deceptive practices under the FTC Act
And the kicker:
Roy Ferman himself was found personally liable.
This wasn’t “a few bad employees.”
This was the business model.
2. What They Really Sold Wasn’t Funding — It Was Credit Card Stacking
If you read my post earlier this month on “credit card stacking,” you already know the script:
- Apply for 5–10 credit cards at once
- Hope the bureaus don’t update fast enough
- Pitch the total limit as “$100K in startup funding”
- Charge 8–15% of the limit
- Disappear before interest hits or utilization kills the borrower
Stacking isn’t a financing solution.
It’s just a timing exploit wrapped in motivational sales language.
When I dissected the influencers pushing it on TikTok and Instagram, I described stacking companies as:
“Institutionalized deception — coordinating simultaneous applications so no single lender sees the full picture.”
That wasn’t a metaphor.
That was Seek Capital’s playbook, scaled into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
The FTC just corroborated every single point.
3. This Was Never About Funding. It Was About Fees.
Seek Capital charged:
- 10% of total credit limits approved
- additional “administrative fees”
- cancellation penalties up to $995
- hidden “consulting charges”
And they justified it all with the same breathless nonsense I’ve heard brokers use for years:
“We have lender relationships you can’t access.”
“We get approvals banks won’t.”
“We handle the paperwork so you don’t have to.”
You know what they actually handled?
Online credit card applications anyone could do themselves.
That’s it.
If you pay someone $10,000 to click “Apply” five times, you didn’t get a funding expert.
You hired a telemarketer with a quota.
4. Seek Capital Didn’t Invent This Scam. They Just Industrialized It.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Seek Capital wasn’t a freak anomaly.
They were simply the most visible, most profitable, most aggressive version of a model that still exists across the small business funding ecosystem.
If you strip away the branding:
- most “startup funding consultants,”
- most “credit line specialists,”
- most “business credit building services”
- most “0% APR programs”
- most “get $150k with just an EIN and LLC registration packages”
…are all selling the same scheme.
Seek Capital didn’t get busted because their strategy was unique.
They got busted because they got big.
When you scale a deception to tens of thousands of borrowers and rake in $37+ million, the FTC eventually notices.
5. Credit Card Stacking Can Technically Work — But Not Like This
Let’s be level-headed.
A disciplined founder with 750+ credit who uses stacking to:
- float inventory,
- finance a short-term marketing push,
- or bridge cash flow for 90–120 days,
…and pays everything off before interest hits?
Fine.
It’s risky, but it’s not inherently fraudulent.
But that’s not who Seek Capital targeted.
They targeted:
- new founders
- with no business revenue
- little financial literacy
- who didn’t understand utilization risk
- and believed they were getting a “business loan”
Those clients were set up to fail from day one.
Stacking wasn’t a tool — it was a trap.
6. The Real Lesson: No One Sells You a Shortcut Out of the Credit Box
If you take nothing else from this, take this:
Any company claiming they can get you “business funding” without revenue, history, or documentation is either lying or applying for credit cards in your name.
There is no secret “FICO loophole.”
There is no “special lender network.”
There is no “startup capital program.”
There are only:
- banks,
- credit cards,
- fintech lenders,
- SBA programs,
- and predators who make money when you don’t understand the difference.
Seek Capital’s downfall isn’t the end of the problem.
It’s just the most public example.
7. How to Protect Yourself (and Your Business)
Here’s the actual playbook:
1. Never pay a broker for credit cards.
Ever. Zero exceptions.
2. Never let someone apply for credit in your name.
That’s not “consulting.” That’s identity misuse.
3. Read the fine print — especially cancellation terms.
4. Ignore anyone selling “0% APR funding packages.”
Those are teaser offers with high backend fees.
5. Get a second opinion from someone not paid commission.
Even better: let Diogenes sanity-check your funding plan.
8. The BrokerFreeCapital Bottom Line
Seek Capital is gone but the credit card stacking hustle is still alive. It just jumps hosts like a virus:
- new names,
- new TikTok gurus,
- new “credit specialists,”
- same scam.
If you want to avoid becoming the next victim of a “consultant” with a script and an affiliate link, here’s your rule of thumb:
If someone promises fast money for a new business, and the pitch sounds cleaner than a bank but faster than a fintech, it’s stacking in disguise.
Don’t fall for it.
And if you want transparent, broker-free guidance on what real funding options exist for your business?
Diogenes has you covered.
Flashlight.
Megaphone.
No commissions.
No games.
Let’s go.