FTC and Two States Sue Lens.com, Alleging Hidden 'Taxes & Fees' Often Doubled the Price of Contact Lenses

Published Oct. 7, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

You search for your contact lens brand, and a sponsored Google ad shows a price well below what your eye doctor charges. You click through, pick your prescription, hit "Continue" and pay. Later, your card statement shows a total far higher than the price you saw. Federal and state regulators say that happened to Lens.com customers again and again.

On Oct. 2, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission, joined by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and the Nevada Attorney General, sued contact lens retailer Lens.com, Inc., its affiliated company Speed Commerce, LLC, and owner Cary Samourkachian in U.S. District Court in Nevada [1][2][3]. The case is FTC et al. v. Lens.com, Inc. et al., No. 2:26-cv-03232 [2].

The complaint alleges the defendants "have made hundreds of millions of dollars through a deceptive pricing scheme targeting consumers shopping for contact lenses" [2].

Important: This is a civil lawsuit, and the claims are allegations. None of the defendants has been found liable. As the FTC notes, it files a complaint when it has "reason to believe" the law is being violated, and "the case will be decided by the court" [1]. We found no public response from Lens.com or Samourkachian as of publication.

Who is being sued

According to the complaint, Lens.com is a Nevada corporation based in Las Vegas. Speed Commerce is a Las Vegas company that provides finance, IT, warehousing, fulfillment and customer service operations to about 150 clients, including Lens.com. Samourkachian is described as the sole owner, officer and employee of Lens.com and the manager and sole owner of Speed Commerce, and the complaint alleges he controlled and approved the company's pricing, fee and checkout practices [2].

What regulators allege

Low advertised prices, much higher totals

The complaint says Lens.com advertises "eye-catching, artificially low prices" in sponsored Google search ads and on its website, while promising "NO HIDDEN FEES." It then adds a mandatory "Taxes & fees" charge that, regulators allege, "routinely doubles the initially advertised price" [2].

A fee hidden "below the fold"

Regulators say the "Taxes & fees" line item sits below the visible part of an interim checkout screen, while a prominent "Continue" button invites shoppers to move ahead. Consumers who click "Continue" never see the line item at all; only those who happen to scroll down do [1][2].

"Taxes" that aren't sales taxes

The label suggests state sales tax, the complaint says, but the charge does not include state sales taxes. Many states exempt contact lenses from sales tax or have no sales tax at all, yet the company uses the "Taxes & fees" label anyway [1][2].

AutoRefill subscriptions

The same low prices are used to sign customers up for "AutoRefill," a negative-option plan that automatically charges for recurring shipments. Regulators allege the company doesn't clearly disclose the fee before taking billing information, and buries how and when to cancel outside the sign-up flow [1].

Customer complaints

The complaint says thousands of customers complained. It quotes one: "I ordered two boxes of lenses at $67.24/each but was charged $199.91. how is this possible"? Another asked: "I do not know how my contacts went from $146 to $245??" [2]

"Lens.com advertised one price for contact lenses but charged a substantially higher price at checkout, deceiving consumers about the cost of this healthcare necessity," said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection [1].

The legal claims

The FTC and the states allege violations of the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act, the Utah Automatic Renewal Contracts Act and the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act. They seek a permanent injunction, monetary relief, civil penalties and other relief. The FTC vote to file was 2-0 [1][2].

Red flags for hidden fees online

• An ad price that's far below every competitor's.
• "Taxes & fees" lumped into one line, especially for an item your state doesn't tax.
• A checkout page where the total isn't visible without scrolling.
• Subscription sign-ups that don't show the full recurring price or how to cancel.
• "No hidden fees" claims. Check the final total anyway.

What to do

1. Check the final total before you pay, scroll the whole page, and compare it with the ad price.
2. Compare totals, not sticker prices, across retailers, including your eye doctor.
3. Review subscriptions. If you're enrolled in an auto-renewal plan, confirm the per-shipment total and how to cancel.
4. Dispute charges you didn't agree to with your card issuer, and keep screenshots.
5. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or your state attorney general's consumer office [1].

Case status (as of Oct. 7, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 7, 2026	Source
Lens.com, Inc., Las Vegas, NV	Federal, D. Nev. (2:26-cv-03232)	Sued (civil) by FTC, Utah and Nevada Oct. 2, 2026; allegations unproven	[1], [2], [3]
Speed Commerce, LLC, Las Vegas, NV	Same	Sued (civil) Oct. 2, 2026; allegations unproven	[1], [2]
Cary Samourkachian (owner)	Same	Sued (civil) individually and as owner/officer Oct. 2, 2026; allegations unproven	[1], [2]

Civil allegations are unproven unless and until a court rules. Statuses can change.

Sources

1. Federal Trade Commission, "FTC, States Sue Lens.com for Misrepresenting the Price of Contact Lenses in Search Ads and on Its Website," press release, Oct. 2, 2026. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/10/ftc-states-sue-lenscom-misrepresenting-price-contact-lenses-search-ads-its-website
2. Complaint, FTC, State of Nevada and Utah Division of Consumer Protection v. Lens.com, Inc., Speed Commerce, LLC and Cary Samourkachian, No. 2:26-cv-03232 (D. Nev., filed Oct. 2, 2026). https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Lens.com-Complaint.pdf
3. Utah Department of Commerce, "Utah, FTC Sue Lens.com for Misrepresenting the Price of Contact Lenses in Search Ads and on Its Website," Oct. 2, 2026. https://commerce.utah.gov/2026/10/02/utah-ftc-sue-lens-com-for-misrepresenting-the-price-of-contact-lenses-in-search-ads-and-on-its-website/

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