Premium Home Service (B.E.S.T. GDR, LLC)

The complaint seeks a permanent injunction, monetary civil penalties, and consumer redress. Case is pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. No settlement amount has been determined.

The Department of Justice, acting on an FTC referral and alongside the Illinois Attorney General, filed a civil complaint against Premium Home Service and its CEO Yosef Bernath for creating over 15,000 fake business profiles on Google Search and Maps to deceive consumers seeking local home repair services. The scheme used fake addresses, overseas call centers, and fabricated consumer reviews to mislead customers nationwide.

The defendants created over 15,000 fake local business profiles using brick-and-mortar addresses belonging to unrelated businesses, with local phone numbers routing to overseas call centers. They posted fake consumer reviews using stolen images from unrelated staff directories. When consumers believed they were hiring a local company, the defendants referred the work to third-party contractors who often lacked qualifications, performed substandard work, or failed to appear. The violations include the FTC Act, the FTC Rule on Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act for obtaining consumer credit card information through false pretenses.