Attorney General James Secures $1.5 Million from Digital Marketing Company for Misleading New Yorkers Seeking Mental Health Care

August 9, 2024

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured $1.5 million from a digital marketing company, 4K Apps, Inc. (4K Apps), for operating a network of deceptive websites that misled tens of thousands of New Yorkers seeking mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and senior living facilities. 4K Apps is a digital marketing company hired by companies to drive customers to their website to buy their product or service. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that 4K Apps ran dozens of websites with directories of health care facilities throughout the state and listed phone numbers that led people to call 4K Apps' clients instead of the health care facilities listed on the websites. As a result of today's settlement, 4K Apps will pay $1.5 million and update all its websites to accurately reflect who consumers are calling.

"It is illegal - and incredibly cruel - to trick New Yorkers who may be in the middle of a mental health crisis and searching for care just to make a profit," said Attorney General James. "No New Yorker should have to endure delays when trying to get in touch with health care providers because of misleading information on the internet. Access to critical health care often begins with people being able to find accurate information about providers online, and my office will not hesitate to take action against companies that mislead New Yorkers."

4K Apps is a digital marketing company that is hired by third-party companies to help attract customers to their website or call center to purchase their product or service. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that 4K Apps created dozens of websites that claimed to help consumers find and connect with health care and other services, but once consumers went onto those websites, they were shown phone numbers for 4K Apps' clients, not the facilities listed. The OAG opened an investigation into 4K Apps after receiving a complaint from a facility listed on one of 4K Apps' websites.

Example of a 4K Apps Website

4K Apps operated at least six mental health sites since August 2020, more than 20 substance abuse sites, and at least 20 assisted living sites since 2019. Each website appeared to provide a directory of facilities and included the facility's name, address, a brief description of the services offered, and what appeared to be the facility's phone number.

The directory-style design of the websites conveyed the false impression that the phone numbers were associated with the listed entities, when in reality all phone numbers would connect callers to a call center operated by a 4K Apps client. These call centers typically did not identify themselves at first, answering with a generic opening such as "intake," which caused consumers confusion when they believed they were calling the facility listed on the directory. 4K Apps was paid for each call that lasted a certain length of time, or that resulted in a visit to a client's facility.

The misleading information shared by 4K Apps impeded New Yorkers' search for mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment. Consumers who were searching for local services would instead land on one of 4K Apps' sites and were deceived into calling one of 4K Apps' clients who offered limited services in a narrow set of locations and often only accepted cash or private insurance. This scheme caused New Yorkers to miss out on reaching the local facility they had hoped to contact, and that may have actually offered appropriate services for treatment, accepted their insurance, or otherwise better suited their needs.

The owner and operator of 4K Apps, Igor Korogodskiy, was aware his company's websites were deceptive but failed to make material changes to stop this scheme. One of his clients received a complaint from a network of treatment centers who pointed out that incorrect phone numbers for their facilities were being used on a "faux directory site." Korogodskiy responded to the complaint by removing the names of the treatment centers from the websites but failed to address the websites' other deceptive elements. Korogodskiy's wife, Anna Kolesnik also operated her own deceptive network of websites that purported to provide a nationwide directory of assisted living facilities.

As a result of the OAG investigation and settlement, 4K Apps must pay New York $1.5 million and adopt a series of changes aimed at correcting the websites' deceptive elements, including the removal of phone numbers underneath or next to entities in a directory-style listing.

Attorney General James has been a leader in holding businesses accountable that take advantage of everyday New Yorkers. In July 2024, Attorney General James announced a bipartisan, 30-state settlement with the owner of Cameo for failing to ensure consumers knew that videos promoting products were paid endorsements. In June 2024, Attorney General James distributed $112.7 million across New York State from her office's historic $462 million multistate settlement with JUUL for its deceptive and misleading marketing tactics that led to a dangerous rise in underage e-cigarette use nationwide. In May 2024, Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of 50 attorneys general secured more than $10.22 million from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless for deceptively marketing wireless service plans for years. In April 2024, Attorney General James secured more than $1 million from Northwell Health for deceptively advertising Covid-19 testing sites.

Attorney General James thanks the Chief of Investigations at the Florida Attorney General's office for assistance in this investigation.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Laura Mumm, Special Enforcement Counsel Jordan Adler, and Deputy Bureau Chief Clark Russell of the Bureau of Internet and Technology, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Kim Berger. The Bureau of Internet and Technology is a part of the Division for Economic Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D'Angelo and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.