FTC Nails Another Deceptive Supp Marketer
Wow. Just wow.
I just got through eyeballing the FTC complaint against Roex, Inc. – a dietary supp marketer charged with making false and misleading advertising claims. They’re being fined $3 million, but, in my opinion, they could have doubled it, and it still wouldn’t have been enough.
Marketers of dietary supplements and health-related devices have agreed to pay $3 million in consumer redress to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceptively claimed their products treated or prevented a wide variety of serious diseases and medical conditions.
The challenged products included an infrared sauna sold to treat cancer; and a variety of nutritional supplements sold to treat, reduce the risk of, or prevent various health conditions, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, strokes and heart attacks, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, ulcers, herpes, asthma, and glaucoma. The marketers sold their products on their Web site and in print materials, but their main advertising vehicle was a nationally broadcast, live, hour-long, call-in radio program titled “The Truth About Nutrition.”
The “truth about nutrition”? Talk about ironic…the full text of the FTC complaint contains transcripts from the radio show. A sample:
Burreson, in response to a caller asking what to give someone in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease: “Alzheimer’s is a very, very misunderstood issue in the body. Most – most misunderstood by the medical community, in my opinion…I believe, based on all the science that I have seen, that stage one and two of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and other dementia diseases almost always stems from a nutritional deficiency…So one of the big things that you can do to help yourself, take adequate amounts of B vitamins and Essential Fatty Acids…And take Cell Talk. Cell Talk is so incredible. Every single adult and child in America, if we could get them on Cell Talk and PC-95, we could change the health care system of this country.” [Exhibit I at 156 (Radio Show Transcript 45:18 to 46:9)]
Un-freakin-believable! People with health problems (or with family members w/health problems) were calling into this show, and getting sales pitches for Roex supps disguised as health advice. As if these clowns actually knew anything about Alzheimer’s disease or had any proof that their supps could help.
“Disgraceful” doesn’t even come close to describing what these clowns were doing. It’s amazing just how low some people will go to make a buck.
March 13, 2009
Elissa, as a cancer survivor, I can tell you that any company that specifically markets a product to prey upon the desperation of this specific audience makes me see red… in a big way.
Mainstream medical cancer treatments (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) often gets a bad “rap” from certain quacks in the naturopathy industry, and products marketed in this manner only tap further into common misconceptions about the only proven methods we have to fight cancer at this time.
Sickening.
March 13, 2009
It is sickening…especially when people are led to believe (as in the transcript above) that the medical community is clueless. This could lead some people to avoid proven treatments in favor of unproven ones.
June 3, 2009
Elissa, we are investigating a class action against Roex based on false advertising. We agree wholeheartedly that they were preying on vulnerable people. If you purchased any Roex product in reliance on false representations, we may be able to help you, and a class of similarly situated consumers, get some relief.
We are in California, just north of San Francisco. California law requires me to say that this is a solicitation for legal services. I hope you will view it as a chance to help other consumers, though. The FTC award will not compensate many consumers, and may not be distributed to consumers at all. More needs to be done.
Sincerely,
Harry Shulman
June 4, 2009
Thanks Harry.
Normally, we wouldn’t permit solicitations on the site; however, I’d say this is an exception. These guys deserve all the heat you can give ’em. 😉