FTC charges weight-loss product marketers
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The Federal Trade Commission underscores that dietary supplement weight-loss claims are a top enforcement priority by charging three companies and two individuals with making false claims for diet products Relacore and Akavar 20/50. The commission seeks restitution from Basic Research, Carter-Reed, Dynakor Pharmacal and company executives Dennis Gay and Mitchell Friedlander. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, also alleges Basic Research, Gay and Friedlander violated a previous order from 2006 not to make bogus claims. The violation occurred when they advertised Relacore and Akavar as allowing users to "eat all you want and still lose weight." The case drives home the message David Vladeck, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, delivered in July when he said supplement weight-loss claims are a "high priority" for FTC because "false claims engender false hopes" (1"The Tan Sheet" Aug. 3, 2009)
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