FTC Busts Another Diet Pill Company
June 29, 2008

A federal court has ruled Hi-Tech Pharmaceutical (www.hitechpharma.com ) and related defendants—National Urological Group (a.k.a. Warner Laboratories), the National Institute for Clinical Weight Loss Inc., Dr. Terrill Wright, and corporate officers Jared Wheat, Thomasz Holda, Michael Howell and Stephen Smith—are responsible for paying about $15.8 million on charges it violated the FTC act via false advertising and unsubstantiated claims for several weight-loss products. The court has also approved a permanent injunction against Wright, a physician associated with the online pharmacies, as well as a fine of $15.4 million for his ill-gotten gains.

Can’t Trust A Doctor?

In the case against Dr. Wright, FTC accused the physician of making “numerous false and unsustainable endorsements that afforded the product an air of clinical safety that it otherwise may not have had.” The court rejected Dr. Wright’s defense that FTC cannot prove he will violate the law again. In fact, FTC showed that Dr. Wright violated the law in the past and continues and continues to make false claim endorsements for Hi-Tech and the other companies, including making some of the same claims in the case at hand.

Final Comments

The fine of 15.4 million dollars seems like a huge amount but it’s nothing compared to the revenue Hi-Tech generated in a very short period of time. Aggressive advertising claims result in massive increases in sales in all instances, but eventually you have to pay the piper. Crafty supplement owners channel money into offshore accounts or “shell” companies prior to being “caught” by the FTC.

SOURCE: www.bodyofscience.com