Category Archives: CRI Genetics

CRI Genetics Nailed for Deceptive Practices by Federal Trade Commission

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Recently, CRI Genetics got their hands slapped badly by the Federal Trade Commission, to the tune of $700,000, and barred from continuing several deceptive practices.

Please read the FTC press release, here and the actual 40-page FTC report detailing CRI’s deceptive activities, here.

You can read the Better Business Bureau string of complaints about the same things at CRI, here.

The range and magnitude of CRI’s misrepresentation to customers and potential customers to convince them to purchase DNA tests is astounding.

I’ve known for a very long time that CRI was “shady,” at best, and have discouraged people from testing there.

Tall Tales

You might ask yourself why CRI is so successful at selling these tall tales.

The answer is that people believe what they are told, and CRI “appears” to give you so much more than the other testing companies. CRI also spams the news waves with “testimonials,” ads, and articles about their successes. For example, google “CRI genetics oldest DNA in America.”

Any extraordinary claim should be a huge red flag. As genealogists, we know that extraordinary claims require extraordinary scrutiny and extraordinary confirming evidence.

For example, a YouTube video was shown in my feed a couple years ago where CRI genetics claimed to be able to trace one’s ancestry back 52 generations.

Yes, 52. That’s not a typo.

Apparently, the FTC noticed the same thing because they mention exactly that and a whole lot more in their press release. Here’s a snippet:

The complaint charges that CRI violated the FTC Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code, and the state’s False Advertising Law, Business and Professions code in several ways. First, CRI allegedly made false claims on its websites and social media that its ancestry reports were more accurate and detailed than other major DNA testing companies, such as Ancestry DNA and 23andMe.

The agencies say that CRI also misrepresented that its ancestry testing reports would show consumers exactly where their relatives are from and when they were there dating back 50 plus generations, with an accuracy rate of more than 90 percent. The company ran ads featuring a prominent genetic scientist who developed CRI’s algorithm for matching DNA, which it falsely claimed was patented, according to the complaint.

When customers receive results from CRI, regardless of how inaccurate they are, customers LIKE what they are told. From the customer’s perspective, they received more than from reputable companies.

I can’t tell you how many people have been upset with me and others when we explain after the fact that, no, they do NOT have whatever CRI was claiming.

Let me give you an example.

Let’s say that CRI says they can track your DNA 17,000 years in the past. What CRI doesn’t say is that they are referring to either a mitochondrial DNA or a Y-DNA base-level or high-level haplogroup. Genealogists can get that exact same thing PLUS matching and a lot more if they take mitochondrial or Y DNA tests. With some vendors, (FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe), they can obtain their extracted haplogroups from autosomal tests.

For Y DNA and mitochondrial tests, 17,000 years is NOT genealogically useful, even though it might make the tester feel “special,” depending on how CRI presents the information. The full sequence mitochondrial DNA test and the Big Y-700 both get you a LOT closer in time than 20,000 years, both provide matching, and both are useful genealogically.

I will also say that some shady companies pay people for positive reviews, testimonials, and inclusion in articles. This is exactly why I do not accept paid advertising or include any vendor’s product for pay, although I do include affiliate links for some companies that I deem to be reputable. All of my affiliate links are listed at the bottom of every article, so you never have to wonder. Almost every company offers affiliate links, but I only include companies that I use and trust, regardless of whether or not they offer affiliate programs.

Whenever I see one of the CRI testimonial videos, I wonder how much the person was paid.

Sometimes Older is Not Better

Sometimes, “older” is actually not “better.” It depends on the context. I have my father’s Y DNA back into the 1700s and my own mitochondrial DNA into Germany in the 1600s and 1700s. I can also track both back further in time using partial or base-level haplogroups, and have.

Base-level haplogroups give much “older” results than more refined haplogroups. For example, mitochondrial haplogroup J1 is about 27,000 years old, J1c, its subgroup, is about 13,000 years old, J1c2 is about 9700 years old, and J1c2f is about 2000 years old, according to Behar’s 2012 paper. J1 is not a “better” haplogroup than J1c2f – certainly not for genealogy.

Using that same logic, that older is better, forget about 17,000 years – we can take you back all the way to Y-line Adam and mitochondrial Eve from whom we all descend.

I wrote about my mitochondrial DNA lineage, here, and my father’s Y-DNA, here and here.

Why Don’t Influencers Say More?

You might be asking yourself why bloggers and influencers haven’t specifically called CRI (and others) out.

The answer is litigation.

No one wants to get sued. Regardless of whether you can “win” or not, the legal fees are exorbitant, and yes, at least one shady company (not CRI) has a history of litigation.

So, when we provide a list of reputable companies, trust us.

When we tell you that we “don’t recommend” a different company, trust us. We don’t necessarily know who “you” are, so we often don’t feel comfortable saying more.

Not every major influencer likes every company, but if you find one company consistently omitted from everyone’s recommendations – that’s a huge red flag and should cause you to wonder why. It’s not always because they are shady, but it’s likely not a random omission.

If you find a company omitted from my blog articles, trust me. You can also ask about the company, and if I say I don’t recommend them, trust that there’s a good reason.

In essence, trust me as a genealogist. If there was ANY COMPANY anyplace that could responsibly track my ancestry 50+ generations, or 17,000 years as they claimed – I’d absolutely be the first person in line and you would know about it immediately.

Tracking a base-level haplogroup, and tracking my “ancestry” are two entirely different things.

Fortunately, I know what CRI isn’t saying, and how they are trying to bait customers. But others clearly don’t, and this type of behavior gives the entire industry a black eye.

The sad part is that CRI is still out there operating. I’m seeing ads on YouTube, ostensibly as happy customers, and on FaceBook as well.

The articles are still out there too. The FTC report stated that CRI’s gross revenue from 2017-2021 was “as much as 42.8 million,” so maybe a $700,000 fine truly was just a slap on the wrist.

Caveat emptor – buyer beware.

Recommended DNA Testing Companies

I recommend staying with the following testing companies, listed in alphabetical order:

These DNA testing companies are reputable. All provide autosomal tests, including matching and advanced tools. Each one has unique strengths and different business models.

This list does not include or extend to third-party tools, just direct DNA testing companies.

The holiday sales are in full swing, and it’s a great time to purchase a DNA test from one or all of these reputable companies.

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