Settlement approved with weapons detector company FTC alleged deceived customers 

A federal judge in Massachusetts has approved a settlement agreement between the Federal Trade Commission and the weapons detection company Evolv Technology, which the FTC alleged engaged in deceptive acts by making "false or unsupported claims" about what its weapons detectors can do.

Specifically, the FTC alleged that Evolv misrepresented the extent to which its scanners could detect weapons and ignore harmless items.

Evolv is also accused of making unsupported claims about how its technology, which incorporates artificial intelligence, makes its systems more accurate, efficient or cost-effective compared to traditional metal detectors.

The recent NBC 5 investigation "Feeling Safe" found Evolv’s weapons detectors have limitations and, in some cases, failed to detect certain weapons.  

We found them being used at Chicago's Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, the former John Hancock building and at major Chicago events like the El Grito festival this summer and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Within the past two years, students at schools in New York and Ohio were injured during stabbing incidents after their schools installed Evolv detectors. One student from New York is now suing as a result.

The results of a 2021 field test conducted at a Major League Soccer stadium in Columbus, Ohio, were first reported by the security tech firm IVPM. The report found that while Evolv's detectors performed relatively well in detecting firearms, it missed two micro-compact handguns during two pass-through attempts. The overall detection rate for knives was just 58 percent.

Evolv did not publish that 52-page report created by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security, also known as NCS4.

Instead, NCS4 released – and Evolv publicly touted – the results of a shorter 25-page report that showed the Evolv Express scanner performed relatively well.

In its complaint, the FTC noted that Evolv "did not disclose to consumers" that the company worked with NCS4 on the test design for the report and worked with NCS4 to make changes to the report, including removing negative information about weapons scanners' ability to detect certain weapons.  

In the wake of the FTC's settlement, Evolv has admitted no wrongdoing and defended its products.

In a recent YouTube video, Evolv's co-founder Michael Ellenbogan said: "…While we admitted no wrongdoing, we're happy to resolve this matter and are pleased the FTC did not challenge the fundamental effectiveness of the technology and nor did the resolution include any monetary relief." Ellenbogan went on to defend the scanners during the video, saying they are still flagging weapons in schools and scanning more than 3 million per day.

NBC 5 Investigates reached out again this week to an Evolv spokeswoman with additional questions about the order and the FTC's allegations. While she did not directly answer our questions, she did send this emailed response:

"The FTC did not challenge the core efficacy of Evolv’s products. We stand behind our technology and are pleased that our customers believe in the importance of our technology and have validated its performance at scale, balancing consistent detection with a positive security experience."

NBC 5 Investigates found at least three school districts in Illinois spent more than $4 million installing Evolv detectors in recent years.

In the Rockford school district, data shared with NBC 5 Investigates show while five knives were recovered, there were more than 85,000 false positive alerts on laptops during scans conducted between August of 2023 and April of 2024.

The recent settlement with the FTC bars Evolv from making certain marketing claims in the future about what its detectors can do, including making representations about:

• The ability to detect weapons
• The ability to ignore harmless personal items
• The ability to detect weapons while ignoring harmless personal items
• The ability to ignore harmless personal items without requiring visitors to remove such items from pockets or bags
• Weapons detection accuracy, including in comparison to the use of metal detectors; among others.

The settlement orders also require Evolv to offer schools using its scanners the ability to cancel their contracts. It's not immediately known how many districts across the country will be affected.

A closer review of the judge's order shows there are limitations on which schools are eligible.

K-12 customers impacted include those that purchased or entered a contract for the use of Evolv Express scanners between April 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. Schools that participated in a 30-day trial prior to purchasing or entering a contract are also ineligible as part of this settlement. The same is true for school districts that bought 15 or more of the Evolv scanners or those that bought additional units more than 45 days after initially deploying the Evolv Express.

Here in Illinois, Joilet's school district told NBC 5 Investigates it was not eligible because their purchase fell outside of the time frame. Champaign school district said they are pleased with purchase of their system and are not currently considering re-negotiating their contract.

A spokesperson for Rockford schools declined to comment.

During an interview earlier this week with NBC 5 Investigates, we asked the FTC’s Katherine Campbell to respond to Evolv’s statements:

“The FTC challenged marketing claims that Evolv made prominently on its website for several years. Many of those claims were about how the product worked and how well it worked. And Evolv often referred to AI when making those claims,” Campbell said.

NBC 5 Investigates also spoke to Don Maye with IVPM, the tech firm that was first to question Evolv's capabilities and first uncovered the 52-page field test report that raised questions about the efficacy of the Evolv Express.

"I think that's a pretty important revelation from the FTC and something that Evolv has to come to terms with – not just with changing this. They have a responsibility to these school districts. And the FTC made that clear too," Maye said, later adding: "This is a company that has many, many issues and I think the public, and school district should really look at the totality of what Evolv has done – particularly as it relates to this FTC investigation."

Evolv also faces lawsuits from investors who allege they were misled and that Evolv overstated what its devices can do.

This week, the company announced the appointment of a new CEO weeks after five employees resigned or were terminated after the company announced in an SEC filing that it had misreported some revenue earnings.

The company first announced late October that an internal committee had begun investigating the company’s sales practices and discovered that "certain sales … were subject to extra-contractual terms and conditions" and that certain "personnel engaged in misconduct in connection with those transactions."

In the update in November, Evolv said its internal investigation "found that certain accounting personnel were aware of indications of these extra-contractual terms and conditions" and that the allegations were raised internally in July 2024 to senior finance and accounting personnel, but "those allegations were not escalated to the audit committee" or to its accounting firm before the filing second quarter 2024 financial statements.

Evolv has said it is cooperating with an SEC inquiry and had received a request from documents from a federal prosecutor's office in New York.