Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

In response to an FTC complaint, in April 2020, a California-based marketer of a supplement consisting mainly of Vitamin C and herbal extracts has agreed to a preliminary order barring him from claiming that it is effective at treating, preventing, or reducing the risk of COVID-19. Pending the resolution of a parallel administrative case, the proposed preliminary order also bars Marc Ching, doing business as Whole Leaf Organics, from claiming that three CBD-based products he sells are effective cancer treatments.

A Florida-based company that has promoted its Isoprex supplement to older adults as a miracle cure for pain and joint inflammation has agreed to a settlement with the FTC that bars the company from continuing to make its unproven claims. In September 2020, the FTC announced it was sending refunds totaling more than $76,000 to consumers who bought the deceptively marketed product.

Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission announced in March 2020, the marketers of an electrical nerve stimulation device called Quell have agreed to pay $4 million and stop making deceptive claims that the device treats pain throughout the body when placed below the knee. They also will stop claiming the device’s efficacy is clinically proven and that it has been cleared by the FDA to treat pain throughout the body. In early September 2020, the FTC announced it was returning almost $3.9 million to defrauded consumers.

The FTC and the State of Maine’s complaint against Health Research Laboratories and its principal, announced in November 2017, alleged that the defendants deceptively marketed two of their health products, BioTherapex and NeuroPlus. In November 2018, the FTC mailed 16,596 checks totaling more than $750,000 to consumers who bought the two deceptively marketed supplements. The FTC and State of Maine subsequently filed a motion seeking a contempt order against the defendants in December 2019, for allegedly violating the final Commission order by continued to market and sell dietary supplements with claims that were not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. In November 2020, the FTC staff discontinued its contempt action and filed an administrative complaint against the defendants. The FTC announced a proposed order settling the complaint in March 2020.

In January 2020, the sellers of a pill called ReJuvenation settled FTC charges that they deceptively claimed that their product is a virtual cure-all for age-related ailments—including cell damage, heart attack damage, brain damage, blindness, and deafness. The orders settling the FTC’s complaint prohibit the defendants from making such claims unless they are true and supported by scientific evidence. The orders also require payment of $660,000, which the Commission may use to provide refunds to defrauded consumers. In June 2020, the FTC announced it was sending checks totaling more than $149,000 to consumers who bought the product.

In October 2019, the Florida-based marketers and sellers of two aloe vera-based supplements agreed to settle FTC charges that they deceived consumers with false and unsupported claims that two products, TrueAloe and AloeCran, were effective treatments for a range of conditions affecting seniors, including chronic pain, ulcerative colitis, diabetes, and acid reflux. The court order resolving the complaint prohibits the sellters from making false and unsubstantiated health claims and requires them to pay $537,500. In May 2000, the FTC announced it was sending checks totaling more than $470,000 to consumers who bought the two supplements.

In March 2020, Nevada-based Health Center, Inc. (HCI) and its owner Peggy Pearce agreed to halt their allegedly deceptive advertising claims about three “cure-all” health and wellness products that targeted older consumers nationwide, in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The order settling the FTC’s complaint prohibits HCI and Pearce from such deceptive conduct and imposes a partially suspended monetary judgment.

In April 2019, the FTC announced that 16 defendants settled charges that they deceptively marketed “cognitive improvement” supplements using sham news websites containing false and unsubstantiated efficacy claims, references to non-existent clinical studies, and fraudulent consumer and celebrity endorsements. The FTC also alleged the defendants used affiliate marketers to make deceptive claims for products including Geniux, Xcel, EVO, and Ion-Z. The settlements ban the defendants from engaging in similar conduct in the future. In February 2020, the Commission announced it was sending refund checks totaling over $551,000 to defrauded consumers.