After filing an investigation in October against Pure Health LLC. and Genesis Today, the creators of the green coffee extract weight loss supplement, the Federal Trade Commission announced what we all knew to be true: these pills don’t promote weight- or fat-loss.
The FTC charged Pure Health LLC. and Genesis Today’s owner, Lindsey Duncan, after they claimed that the green coffee extract supplement could allow users to lose 16 percent body fat in 12 weeks and that clinical studies backed these claims. What they failed to mention was that the clinical studies were intentionally flawed and numbers were deceptively skewed.
The scam got even stickier after Lindsey appeared on the Dr. Oz Show and tailored a new advertising campaign around the appearance and Dr. Oz’s stamp of approval.
“After the supplement appeared on the Dr. Oz Show, there was a spike in sales’” says Mitch Katz of the FTC Office of Public Affairs. “Now that the investigation found all of the marketing claims to be false, despite the ‘Dr. Oz effect,’ the FTC is requiring that $9 million be paid back to consumers.”
Along with the $9 million fine for consumer redress, the defendants have also been barred from making deceptive claims about the health benefits of any dietary supplement or product.
“Lindsey Duncan and his companies made millions by falsely claiming that green coffee bean supplements cause significant and rapid weight loss,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in an official statement. “This case shows that the Federal Trade Commission will continue to fight deceptive marketers’ attempts to prey on consumers trying to improve their health.”
So while you are trying cut some fat in the name of your not-gonna-fail New Year’s Resolution, forget the quick fixes and just hit the gym and eat right–just like we taught you.