Marketers Of Green Coffee Bean Weight-Loss Products Must Refund $9M

By now we should all be fairly familiar with the saga of Dr. Oz, the supposed “miracle” weight-loss benefits of green coffee bean extract, and the Federal Trade Commission’s mission to put a stop to the craze by shutting down marketers and online sellers that created fake news sites, fake reporters and relied on bogus studies to sell the product. The Commission’s work continued Monday when one such company agreed to pay $9 million in consumer redress to settle charges of deceptively marketing the products.

The FTC announced that Lindsey Duncan and his controlled companies have agreed to settle charges that they deceptively touted the supposed weight-less benefits of green coffee bean extract through a campaign that included appearances on The Dr. Oz Show, The View and other programs.

Under the settlement [PDF], Duncan and his companies must pay $9 million to consumer duped by the product’s marketing campaigns.

According to the FTC complaint [PDF], Duncan and his companies, Pure Health LLC and Genesis Today, Inc., deceptively claimed that a study proved the supplement could cause consumers to lose 17 pounds and 16% of their body fat in just 12 weeks without diet or exercise.

While on The Dr. Oz Show, Duncan cited a heavily flawed and disputed study to tout the supposed benefits of green coffee bean extract.

Back in September, the FTC settled charges against Applied Food Sciences – the company that sponsored the bogus scientific study – for $3.5 million.

The FTC complaint against Duncan claims that after he taped his Dr. Oz appearance, but before the episode aired, he began selling the extract and tailoring a marketing campaign around his appearance to capitalize on the “Oz effect” – a phenomenon in which discussion of a product on the program causes an increase in consumer demand.

During Duncan’s taped appearance on the show he urged viewers to search for the product online using phrases his company would use in search advertising to drive consumers to their websites selling the product.

Duncan also allegedly reached out to retailers, describing his upcoming appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, saying he planned to discuss the clinical trials that purportedly proved the supplement’s effectiveness.

Duncan, appeared on the Dr. Oz show to talk up the disputed benefits of green coffee bean extract. The host of the show called it a miracle weight-loss cure for all body types, and that you could lose significant amounts of weight without doing anything.

Additionally, he and the companies began an intensive effort to make the extract available in Walmart stores and on Amazon when the program aired.

After Duncan’s appearance on the show, the efforts to sell the product intensified. The FTC claims the defendants posted links to the episode on websites and used retail displays showing messages such as “New Health Discovery! As Seen on TV, ‘The Dieter’s Secret Weapon.’”

According to the FTC, the efforts were successful, and the companies sold tens of millions of dollars worth of extract.

In addition to the deceptive marketing campaigns, the FTC alleges that Duncan and several of his companies’ spokespeople portrayed themselves on television shows as independent sources of information about the extract and other natural remedies, while failing to disclose their financial ties to the company.

In addition to paying $9 million in consumer redress, the FTC settlement bars Duncan and his companies from making deceptive claims about the health benefits or effectiveness of any dietary supplement or drug product.

The company must also substantiate any future weight-loss claims with at least two well-controlled human clinical tests.

Marketer Who Promoted a Green Coffee Bean Weight-Loss Supplement Agrees to Settle FTC Charges [Federal Trade Commission]