What is in this article?:
- Açaí berry weight-loss scammer hit by FTC
- What does FTC's crackdown mean for açaí?
An açaí weight-loss marketer accused of defrauding U.S. consumers of upwards of $25 million had its operations halted and assets frozen by FTC this month. What impact would the scandal have on the legitimate açaí market?
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On Dec. 1, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had filed a court order together with the State of Connecticut to halt an Internet operation that runs bogus news sites featuring fake stories about açaí weight loss pills. The fake news sites are promoted on banner ads and web page links by affiliate marketers and eventually link to supposedly free trials for açaí supplements—though many consumers complained of unwittingly paying $79.99 for monthly shipments. FTC asserts that the scam’s perpetrators have defrauded customers of over $25 million.
The court order placed an injunction on the operations of Boris Mizhen, owner of LeanSpa LLC, NutraSlim LLC and NutraSlim U.K. Ltd., the companies responsible for the scam. The companies operate with various websites—such as TryLeanSpa.com, TryNutraSlim.com and TryQuickDetox.com—which are linked to various fake news websites—including channel8health.com, dailyhealth6.com and online6health.com—run by affiliate marketers. The news websites feature fake investigative reports with titles like "Açaí Berry Diet Exposed: Miracle Diet or Scam?" and employ logos from credible news sources such as CNN and MSNBC.
FTC had announced its intent to crack down on these açaí weight-loss supplement sellers last spring, filing 10 different complaints against the affiliate marketers themselves. At the time, an FTC attorney asserted that “tens of billions” of these false advertisements were present across the internet. This court order appears to be the first instance of an actual supplement seller getting burned.