FleetCor and CEO to Pay $100 Million in FTC Fee Settlement
FleetCor, now operating as Corpay, and its CEO Ronald Clarke have agreed to a $100 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over hidden and
FleetCor and its CEO Ronald Clarke have agreed to pay $100 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission litigation over hidden charges on commercial fuel cards. The settlement concludes years of court action stemming from a 2019 complaint that accused the company, which now operates as Corpay, of imposing hundreds of millions in unauthorized fees on small-business customers.
Regulators found that FleetCor deceived tens of thousands of customers by promising fuel savings that never materialized. The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection director, Christopher Mufarrige, stated, "FleetCor deceived its small business customers by promising fuel savings that never materialized." Investigators detailed a pattern of hidden late fees, misleading claims about fraud controls, and obscured billing practices that directly harmed operators' cash flow and margins.
Billing Practices Obscured Fees
A key finding was that FleetCor often waited several billing cycles before adding many charges, making the extra costs harder for customers to notice. Invoices routinely omitted fee disclosures, pushing account holders to search through separate management reports. Even these documents often obscured fee amounts among unrelated details or excluded them entirely, according to the FTC.
These practices allowed unauthorized fees to accumulate, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. Small-business customers, who sought the fuel cards to lower operating costs, instead found promised savings disappearing beneath undisclosed billing.
Legal Proceedings and Injunctions
The legal path to the settlement was definitive. In 2023, a federal district court granted summary judgment to the FTC on every count, finding hidden charges and false representations involving savings, fees, and fraud-control features. The court issued a permanent injunction barring FleetCor from billing without informed consent and requiring clear disclosures. It also prohibited deceptive fuel-card claims or hiding material information behind hyperlinks.
In 2026, a federal appeals court upheld every judgment against FleetCor and affirmed the permanent injunction. The panel sustained all but one count involving CEO Ronald Clarke, vacating restrictions concerning him. The proposed settlement terms require both FleetCor and Clarke not to oppose renewed limits covering the executive.
Settlement Terms and Future Penalties
The consent order requires FleetCor and Clarke to provide $100 million for business customer redress. FTC commissioners accepted the package by a 1-0-1 vote, with Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson recusing himself. Officials plan to publish the order in the Federal Register, opening a 30-day public comment period before deciding whether to finalize it.
Agency officials have not yet announced individual eligibility requirements, payment amounts, or distribution dates for customer restitution. The order establishes that future violations could trigger significant civil penalties, reaching $53,088 per violation. Customers awaiting restitution details are advised to watch for official FTC updates.
The case shows critical lessons for transportation professionals on invoice review, vendor oversight, and contract controls, as fuel-card fees directly impact carrier margins and trust in essential payment tools.
