| U.S. Federal Trade Commission |
FTC News Release, June 20, 2005
Defendants Who Deceptively Marketed the “Himalayan Diet Breakthrough” Settle FTC Charges:
Agree To Pay $400,000 In Consumer Redress
AVS Marketing, Inc., and its
president, William R. Heid, have agreed to pay $400,000 in
consumer redress to settle Federal Trade Commission charges
that they deceptively marketed a purported weight-loss pill
called “Himalayan Diet Breakthrough.” According to the FTC,
the defendants claimed the product causes rapid and
substantial weight loss without the need to diet or exercise.
The FTC alleged that the defendants’ ads for the product used
five of the seven bogus “Red Flag” weight-loss claims. The ads
appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the Albuquerque Journal,
Hair Cut and Style, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the San
Francisco Chronicle, and various other publications. The FTC’s
ongoing “Red Flag” education campaign provides guidance to
assist media outlets and others in spotting false claims in
weight-loss ads. In addition to paying consumer redress, the
settlement prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting the
efficacy or safety of any food, drug, dietary supplement,
device, or health-related program.
The FTC filed charges against the
Illinois-based defendants in October 2004, as part of
“Operation Big Fat Lie.” The FTC alleged that the defendants
made false and unsubstantiated claims for the “Himalayan Diet
Breakthrough,” a dietary supplement containing Nepalese
Mineral Pitch, “a paste-like material” that “oozes out of the
cliff face cracks in the summer season” in the Himalayas. The
defendants claimed the product causes rapid and substantial
weight loss without dieting or exercise; causes users to lose
substantial weight while still consuming unlimited amounts of
food; causes substantial weight loss by preventing the
formation of body fat; causes substantial weight loss for all
users; and enables users to lose as much as 37 pounds in eight
weeks safely.
The stipulated final judgment and
order announced today prohibits the defendants from making
false or unsubstantiated claims about weight-loss products or
other products in the future. The order contains a judgment
for more than $4.9 million, the total amount of sales for the
product at issue. Based on a review of the defendants’
financial information, it has been determined that they are
unable to pay full redress. The order suspends the judgment
upon payment of $400,000 to the FTC. If it is found that the
defendants misrepresented their financial condition, the full
$4.9 million will become due immediately.
The Commission vote authorizing staff to
file the proposed stipulated final judgment and order was 5-0.
The stipulated final judgment and order was filed in the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern
Division, on June 10, 2005, and was signed by the judge on
June 13, 2005.
NOTE: This stipulated final
judgment and order is for settlement purposes only and does
not constitute an admission by the defendants of a law
violation. The stipulated final judgment and order has the
force of law when signed by the judge.
The text in this article was prepared by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.