FTC Enforcement

October 24, 2014

HealthyLife Sciences, LLC and its former CEO settle charges that they deceived consumers with promises that their Healthe Trim supplements would burn fat, increase metabolism, and suppress appetite and made false and unsubstantiated claims that Healthe Trim supplements would cause rapid and substantial weight loss.   Advertisements for Healthe Trim, which used the tagline “Get High School Skinny,” relied heavily on consumer testimonials that portrayed losing weight as easy.   The settlement bans the former CEO from the weight-loss industry and HealthyLife Sciences is banned from making any of the seven weight-loss claims that the FTC has publicly advised are scientifically infeasible, with respect to any supplement, over-the-counter drug, or any product rubbed into or worn on the skin.  FTC

October 24, 2014

HealthyLife Sciences, LLC and its former CEO settle charges that they deceived consumers with promises that their Healthe Trim supplements would burn fat, increase metabolism, and suppress appetite and made false and unsubstantiated claims that Healthe Trim supplements would cause rapid and substantial weight loss.   Advertisements for Healthe Trim, which used the tagline “Get High School Skinny,” relied heavily on consumer testimonials that portrayed losing weight as easy.   The settlement bans the former CEO from the weight-loss industry and HealthyLife Sciences is banned from making any of the seven weight-loss claims that the FTC has publicly advised are scientifically infeasible, with respect to any supplement, over-the-counter drug, or any product rubbed into or worn on the skin.  FTC

October 23, 2014

A court shut down Centro Natural Corp. and Sumore L.L.C., at the FTC’s request, on allegations that they operate a phantom debt collection operation that deceived and abused thousands of Spanish-speaking consumers across the country in an attempt to collect money they did not even owe.  According to the FTC, the companies bilked consumers out of at least two million dollars by cold-calling consumers and threatening them with harsh consequences, such as arrest, legal actions, and immigration status investigations, if they failed to make large payments on bogus debts.  The defendants’ telemarketers also pressured and deceived consumers into paying for unwanted products by telling consumers it would “settle” their debt.  The FTC is seeking a court order permanently stopping the defendants’ scam.  FTC

March 10, 2014

The FTC has sent more than $2.4 million in refund checks to just over a hundred consumers harmed by the Premier Precious Metals scheme, which bilked millions of dollars from investors, including many senior citizens. The scheme worked by conning consumers into buying precious metals on credit without clearly disclosing significant costs and risks, including the likelihood that consumers would subsequently have to pay more money or lose their investments. FTC