Tag: Health

In March 2023, the FTC took action under the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act, suing Dr. Dalal A. Akoury and a set of companies she controls that operate as AWAREmed Health & Wellness Resource Center, a medical clinic, for making a wide range of false or unsupported claims for addiction treatment services, cancer treatment services, and the treatment of other serious conditions. The proposed order settling the Commission’s complaint bars Dr. Akoury and her AWAREmed clinic from making such unsupported claims and requires her to pay a $100,000 civil penalty.

The Federal Trade Commission has brought lawsuits against three current and former high-level distributors – so-called “Wellness Advocates” – of the Utah-based multi-level marketing company doTERRA International, LLC, for making claims that the company’s essential oils and dietary supplements could treat, prevent, or cure COVID-19. The distributors, all current or former healthcare practitioners, made the claims in a series of webinars in early 2022 and touted their medical expertise in recommending the products.

The three complaints, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, allege that the defendants made numerous claims about the ability of various doTERRA products to prevent, treat, or cure COVID-19, in violation of the FTC Act and the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act.

The Federal Trade Commission has brought lawsuits against three current and former high-level distributors – so-called “Wellness Advocates” – of the Utah-based multi-level marketing company doTERRA International, LLC, for making claims that the company’s essential oils and dietary supplements could treat, prevent, or cure COVID-19. The distributors, all current or former healthcare practitioners, made the claims in a series of webinars in early 2022 and touted their medical expertise in recommending the products.

The three complaints, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, allege that the defendants made numerous claims about the ability of various doTERRA products to prevent, treat, or cure COVID-19, in violation of the FTC Act and the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act.

The Federal Trade Commission filed suit against the operators of the online store Glowyy for failing to deliver on promises that they could quickly ship products like face masks, sanitizer, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit alleges that the company violated the FTC’s Mail, Internet and Telephone Order Rule (Mail Order Rule), which requires that companies notify consumers of shipping delays in a timely manner and give consumers the chance to cancel orders and receive prompt refunds.

The Federal Trade Commission referred a complaint to the Department of Justice alleging that Adam J. Harmon and two companies he controls falsely told consumers that personal protective equipment they marketed during the pandemic, as well as light fixtures they sold, were made in the United States. The complaint alleged that Harmon and ALG made numerous false and misleading claims that their PPE products were all or virtually all made in the United States, even though the products were wholly imported, or incorporated significant imported materials or subcomponents. The defendants also falsely stated that their products were U.S.-origin respirators, certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety (NIOSH). Under the proposed order, Harmon and his companies must: stop making deceptive U.S.-origin labeling and advertising claims, provide substantiation for all Made in USA and COVID-19-related claims, and pay a $157.683.37 civil penalty.

In January 2022, New York City-based Vision Path, Inc., the online seller of direct-to-consumer Hubble lenses, agreed pay penalties and redress totaling $3.5 million to settle FTC charges that it violated the Contact Lens Rule in several ways, including by failing to obtain prescriptions and to properly verify prescription information, and by substituting Hubble lenses for those actually prescribed to consumers. The FTC also alleged the company violated the FTC Act when it failed to disclose that many reviews of Hubble lenses were not by unbiased consumers but were written by reviewers who were compensated for their reviews, and, in at least one instance, by one of its own executives.

In May 2021, the FTC filed a complaint against Kushly Industries LLC and its CEO, Cody Alt, for allegedly marketing products containing cannabidiol (CBD) using unsubstantiated health and establishment claims. According to the complaint Kushly sold a variety of CBD products to the public through its website, kushly.com, and social media platforms from January 2019 to August 2020. The FTC order announced at the same time as the complaint banned the company and Alt from the alleged illegal conduct. The Commission approved the final order in July 2021. In August 2022, the FTC announced it was returning almost $21,000 to defrauded consumers.

In March 2022, the FTC announced that two Texas-based companies and their owner are banned from advertising or selling dietary supplements, and from making claims that their products treat, cure, or reduce the risk of disease, under a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The agency announced final approval of the order in June 2022.

In September 2019, the operators of a deceptive negative option scheme agreed to a court-ordered preliminary injunction temporarily barring them from a wide range of conduct.  The preliminary injunction stops the defendants from misleading consumers about supposedly “free trial” offers, enrolling them in unwanted continuity plans, billing them without their authorization, and making it nearly impossible for them to cancel or get their money back. In June 2022, the Commission announced it was returning $5.4 million to defrauded consumers.