Quoting from:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/01/braswell.htm
Direct Response Marketer Banned
FTC Charged Braswell Made False Claims to
Sell Dietary Supplements
The mastermind behind a scheme to sell
dietary supplements using claims the Federal
Trade Commission alleged were false and
unsubstantiated has been banned from the
direct response marketing of foods, unapproved
drugs, and dietary supplements. The
defendant, A. Glenn Braswell, who was
already under another consent decree
stemming from alleged violations of the
FTC Act, also will pay $1 million and turn
over assets worth $3.5 million to settle
the FTC's charges. The FTC also is
announcing a settlement with one of the
"expert" endorsers for Braswell's dietary
supplement products.
"We charged Braswell with peddling
empty promises to consumers battling
serious illnesses" said Lydia Parnes,
Director of the FTC's Bureau of
Consumer Protection. "This settlement
will prevent him from profiting from
these sorts of deceptive claims in the
future, and deter others who may think
they can get away with similar practices."
Braswell sold dietary supplements, mostly
through direct mail advertising, including the
Journal of Longevity, a direct mail ad
that purported to be a health-information
magazine. The FTC alleged these ads, aimed
at elderly consumers, used false and
misleading claims of medical or scientific
"breakthroughs," expert endorsements, and
misrepresented the results and applicability
of scientific studies. According to the FTC,
Braswell's operation was one of the largest
U.S. direct mail marketers of health-related
products during the time he was running the
companies.
The products the FTC targeted, Lung Support
Formula, AntiBetic Pancreas Tonic,
Gero Vita G.H.3, ChitoPlex, and Testerex,
were supposed to cure, prevent, or treat a
number of illnesses, such as Alzheimer's
disease, diabetes, and emphysema. Braswell is
the former owner of the California-based
corporate defendants and controlled the
misleading advertising and marketing materials.
In settling the FTC's charges, Braswell
not only is banned from direct
response marketing (with a few exemptions,
such as FDA approved product claims),
he also is prohibited from making false,
misleading, or unsubstantiated health claims,
misrepresenting endorsements, making
unsubstantiated endorsements, or
misrepresenting scientific evidence for
all foods, drugs, dietary supplements, and
health-related products and services.
Braswell already was under a 1983 consent
order to resolve the FTC's charges related
to his marketing of baldness and anti-cellulite
products.
Today, the FTC also is announcing a
settlement with defendant Hans Kugler. The
FTC alleged that Kugler was an expert
endorser for two of the products, Lung
Support Formula and Gero Vita G.H.3.
The FTC's complaint charged that
Kugler did not have the required expertise
or a reasonable basis for his endorsements.
The settlement prohibits him from making
future endorsements, unless they are based
on competent and reliable scientific
information and an actual exercise of his
represented expertise, as well as
misrepresentations about scientific tests
or studies. Kugler will pay $15,000 in
settlement of the allegations.
With today's announced settlements,
all of the seven corporate defendants and
four of the five individual defendants have
settled the FTC's charges in this case.
Litigation continues against Chase Revel.