Feds Squash Hoodia, Human Growth Hormone Scams

International scammers charged with peddling worthless potions

October 11, 2007

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Spammers must stop sending unwanted and illegal e-mail messages about hoodia weight-loss products and human growth hormone anti-aging products that the Federal Trade Commission alleges don’t work.

At the FTC’s request, a district court judge ordered a halt to the e-mails and to product claims that the FTC charges are false and unsubstantiated. The law enforcement action is the first brought by the agency using the U.S. SAFE WEB Act to share information with foreign partners.

The FTC alleged that the international enterprise, with defendants in the United States, Canada, and Australia, used spammers to drive traffic to Web sites selling two kinds of pills.

One kind, called “HoodiaLife” and “HoodiaPlus,” was supposed to contain hoodia gordonii and cause significant weight loss. The other, called “HGHLife” and “HGHPlus,” was supposed to be a “natural human growth hormone enhancer” that would dramatically reverse the aging process.

The FTC’s spam database received over 175,000 spam messages sent on behalf of the operation.

The FTC alleges that the claims made for the products were false and unsubstantiated.

According to the FTC complaint, the defendants falsely claimed that their supposed “hoodia” products cause rapid and substantial weight loss, including as much as 25 pounds in a month; cause users to lose safely three or more pounds per week for multiple weeks; and cause permanent weight loss.

The complaint also charges that the defendants falsely claimed that their supposed HGH products would contain human growth hormone and/or cause a clinically meaningful increase in a consumer’s growth hormone levels.

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According to the FTC, the defendants also falsely claimed that their HGH products would turn back or reverse the aging process, including: reducing cellulite, improving hearing and vision, causing new hair growth, improving emotional stability, increasing muscle mass, and causing fat and weight loss.

The FTC charges that the defendants made all of these claims without evidence to support them.

CAN-SPAM

In addition, the FTC alleges that the operation violated the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (“CAN-SPAM Act”) by initiating commercial e-mails that contained false “from” addresses and deceptive subject lines, and failed to provide an opt-out link or physical postal address.

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