The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged four companies for misleading consumers with false weight loss marketing campaigns.
The companies - Sensa Products, L'Occitane, HCG Diet Dirent and LeanSpa - have been fined by the FTC for deceiving customers, reports the New York Times.
"This is the second-biggest deceptive advertising settlement in FTC history," Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a news conference, reported NBC News. "The chances of being successful at substantial weight loss just by sprinkling something on your food, rubbing creams on your body or just using a supplement, well, they're slim to none."
According to the FTC, these four companies with the help of false clinical trials advertised their products and collected over $364 million in sales between 2008 and 2012.
FTC will reportedly collect $7.3 million from LeanSpa that endorses acai berry and their ''colon cleanse'' weight-loss supplements on fake news websites. Sensa will have to pay $26.5 million and L'Occitane and HCG Diet Direct will refund $34 million to their customers. These tow companies were found to sell unverified hormones for weight loss, reported The Boston Globe.
"HCG failed to produce any studies supporting these dramatic weight loss claims. We've also challenged the defendant's claim that its weight loss plan was safe," Rich said at the conference. However, the fine is suspended for HCG as it is unable to pay $3.2 million.
Sensa has agreed to remove their ads, claims FTC. ''The settlement involves no admission of wrongful conduct by the company and does not challenge the product's safety,'' Sensa said in a statement. The company will keep making the products with different advertisements, according to the Globe.
FTC has also urged radio stations, newspapers, magazines and other media not to carry the false advertisements.
