FTC accuses TurboTax maker Intuit of deceiving consumers

The U.S. government is suing Intuit, alleging that the owner of the widely used tax filing software is lying to customers by claiming the product is free and then steering them toward paid products.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint on Monday in the Northern District of California and asked a court for an emergency motion to halt TurboTax ads. 

"TurboTax is bombarding consumers with ads for 'free' tax filing services, and then hitting them with charges when it's time to file," Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "We are asking a court to immediately halt this bait-and-switch, and to protect taxpayers at the peak of filing season."