Glendale, CA –A California-based company has been temporarily terminated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for allegedly using several deceptive methods of marketing and advertising, according to a press release.
Sale Slash, LLC, has a court order against it to stop operation because of the alleged use of “millions of spam emails, along with false weight-loss claims and fake, unauthorized endorsements from celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, to market its unproven diet pills,” according to the press release. This court order also freezes the company’s assets in an attempt to recover money that will be repaid to customers who purchased the diet pills.
The court order claims that Sale Slash, LLC violated the CAN-SPAM Act that was issued by FTC in 2003. This Act states that companies cannot use false or misleading header information; cannot use deceptive subject lines; must identify the message as an ad; must tell recipients where the company is located; must tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future emails; and must honor opt-out requests.
“Sale Slash is a fraud trifecta,” said Jessica Rich, director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The company made outlandish weight-loss claims for its diet pills using fake news sites, phony celebrity endorsements, and millions of unwanted spam emails.”
For their products, which include Premium Green Coffee, Pure Garcinia Cambogia, Premium White Kidney Bean Extract, Pure Forskolin Extract and Pure Caralluma Fimbriata Extract, Sale Slash has been accused of hacking e-mail accounts and sending e-mails to the person’s contacts that say, for example, “Hi! Oprah says it’s excellent,” with hyperlinks leading to its Web site, according to the press release. Additionally, these e-mails did not contain information as to how receivers could opt out of future emails, a requirement set by the CAN-SPAM Act.
Those being charged in this case include: Slash Sale, LLC; Purists Choice, LLC; Artur Babayan, owner and manager of the two companies; and Vahe Haroutounian, individually and doing business as Prisma Profits. This complaint means that FTC has “reason to believe” that the law is being violated, but the final decision will be made by the court.
Posted on WholeFoods Magazine Online, May 5, 2015
