Sale Slash Reaches $42M FTC Settlement Over Bogus Fat Burning Pills

Sale Salsh LLC reached a $43 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to resolve allegations that Sale Slash fraudulently sold fake fat burning pills, exaggerated the pills’ effectiveness, and advertised the pills by spamming consumers with fake celebrity endorsements.

In the initial fake fat burning pills lawsuit, the FTC placed a restraining order against Sale Slash to prevent the company from continuing its alleged fraudulent practices.

The FTC accused the agency of spending $17 million to deceptively market its bogus fat burning pills. In the settlement, Slash Sale did not admit to any wrongdoing but agreed to several stipulations for a permanent injunction along with monetary penalties.

Bogus Fat Burning Pills Settlement

Under the terms of the settlement, Sale Slash is prohibited from claiming that their fat burning pills aid weight loss in any way unless the claims can be backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence.

The company is also prohibited from claiming the fat burning pills are endorsed and approved by specific individuals such as Rachel Ray, Oprah Winfery, and any doctors featured on television shows.

The company is also required to have scientific evidence to support any claims they make regarding the health effects or the safety of their products.

The Slash Sale products mentioned in the multimillion dollar settlement include Premium Green Coffee Bean, Pure Garcinia Cambogia, and several others.

Green Coffee Bean and Garcinia Cambogia Lawsuit

According to the lawsuit initially filed by the FTC, Sale Slash hired several agents to hack into various email accounts and send bogus fat burning pills advertisements.

The advertisements appeared to be from the hacked account user rather than from a marketer and did not offer recipients the ability to opt out of receiving the emails. The FTC stated that advertisements for the pills often contained links to fake news sites or issued fake celebrity endorsements. When the weight loss pills lawsuit was initially filed the FTC was seeking over $200 million in consumer harm.

What are Green Coffee Bean and Garcinia Cambogia Pills?

Green coffee bean extract is produced from coffee beans that have not been roasted. Supporters of green coffee bean extract suggest that unroasted beans have higher levels of beneficial chemicals that can help with weight loss and other conditions.

Garcinia cambogia is a citrus fruit that grows in Southeast Asia. The fruit is traditionally used in cooking but it has recently gained popularity as a weight loss supplement.

Green Coffee Bean Extract and Garcinia Combogia pills have been heralded as “miracle weigh loss cures” by celebrity TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz.  The FTC recently questioned Dr. Oz about his statements when the FTC realized the product manufacturers used a falsified study to support the effectiveness of the weight loss pills.

The spread of news regarding the falsified study and other fraudulent advertising practices has resulted in several lawsuits being filed against the pill manufacturers and marketers.

The Weight Loss Supplement Lawsuit is Case No. 15-cv-03107, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California.