The U.S. Department of Justice has filed charges against Opinions for Good (Op4G) and Slice MR. The accusation is serious: both market research firms are alleged to have systematically fabricated survey data over several years, resulting in fraud totaling $ 10 million.
What distinguishes this case is that it does not involve click farms or dubious actors on the fringes of the industry. Instead, the charges point to alleged criminal activities orchestrated and approved by company leadership—within two U.S.-based, established market research providers. Unlike past fraud scandals, this incident occurred inside the standard supply chain, involving firms that were presumably vetted according to the same quality standards that the industry relies on.
On April 15, 2025, eight individuals were formally indicted. All accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The indictment outlines a scheme of international fraud involving fabricated survey data. According to the court documents, the companies hired so-called “ants”—individuals paid to submit fake responses to online surveys. These individuals were given detailed instructions on how to answer screening questions, how long to spend on each survey to appear legitimate, and how to use VPN services to mask their IP addresses.
Once again, this case makes one thing clear:
Data quality does not begin with trust—it begins with transparency.
Read the official DOJ press release
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