Tag: Bureau of Consumer Protection

The Federal Trade Commission is returning more than $930,000 to consumers who bought tea products that Teami marketed and sold using allegedly deceptive health claims.

The FTC sued Teami, LLC and its owners in March 2020, charging that the company made bogus health claims and paid for endorsements from well-known social media influencers who did not adequately disclose that they were being paid to promote the defendant’s products. Teami claimed without reliable scientific evidence that their Teami 30 Day Detox Pack would help consumers lose weight, and that its other teas would fight cancer, clear clogged arteries, decrease migraines, treat and prevent flus, and treat colds.

In March 2021, a New York-based company and its CEO agreed to settle FTC charges that they sold hundreds of thousands of indoor TV antennas and signal amplifiers to consumers using deceptive claims that the products would let users cancel their cable service and still receive all of their favorite channels for free. Among other things, the proposed consent order settling the FTC’s complaint prohibits the defendants from making claims about: 1) any product’s rating, ranking or superiority to other products; 2) the channels users will receive; or 3) any material aspect of a product’s performance, efficacy, or central characteristics, unless the claims are true and substantiated.

In February 2022, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission, federal courts in California ordered two Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers, Xcast and Deltracon, to turn over information that the agency is seeking as part of ongoing investigations into potentially illegal robocalls. Companies that fail to comply with such federal court orders can be held in contempt.

In February 2022, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission, federal courts in California ordered two Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers, Xcast and Deltracon, to turn over information that the agency is seeking as part of ongoing investigations into potentially illegal robocalls. Companies that fail to comply with such federal court orders can be held in contempt.

In April 2021, two companies, BASF SE and DIEM Labs, agreed to pay a total of more than $416,000 to settle FTC charges that they deceptively marketed two dietary fish oil supplements as clinically proven to reduce liver fat in adults and children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The payment will enable the Commission to provide refunds to all consumers who bought either supplement. They also were barred from the allegedly illegal conduct. The Commission announced approval of the final consent orders in June 2021.