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The Better Business Bureau released the most comprehensive article yet about fake celebrity endorsement/auto-ship trap/crap product schemes December 12th:

Subscription Traps and Deceptive Free Trials Scam Millions with Misleading Ads and Fake Celebrity Endorsements

An associated article lists some of the recent prosecutions of these scammers by the FTC:

Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals: Filed in 2006, settled in July 2009. Case involved the Enzyte male enhancement pill, with TV commercials featuring “Smiling Bob.” Judgment of $44.9 million.

Grant Connect/Kimoto: Filed in 2009, won in court and resolved 2013. Case involved free trials of government grant programs using photos of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Judgment of $29.8 million.

Commerce Planet: Filed 2009, won in court 2016. Case involved an online auction kit. Victims were told they could get a free trial by simply paying shipping and handling. FTC won in court and on appeal. Judgement of $19.7 million.

Central Coast Nutraceuticals: Filed 2010, settled 2013. Case Involved free trials of diet and colon cleansing pills. Claimed endorsements by Oprah Winfrey and Rachel Ray. Judgment of $80 million.

Iworks: Filed 2010, settled 2017. Case involved free trial offers of government grants and money making opportunities. Judgment of $280.9 million.

Jesse Wilms: Filed in 2011, resolved 2012. This case involved a Canadian company that offered free trials of weight loss pills, tooth whiteners and other products. Claimed endorsements by Oprah Winfrey and Rachel Ray. Subject of an article in the Atlantic. Judgement of $359 million.

Leanspa: Filed in 2011, settled 2016. Connecticut Attorney General co-plaintiff. Case involved free trials for weight loss and colon cleansing pills. Judgment of $32.7 million.

Health Formulas: Filed 2014, settled 2017. Case Involved free trials of weight loss, male enhancement and skin care products. Judgment of $105 million.

AuraVie: Filed 2015, settled 2018. Case involved free trials of skincare products. Falsely claimed an A+ rating with BBB. Judgment of $72.7 million.

NutraClick: Filed and settled 2016. Case involved free trials of nutritional supplements and beauty products. Company made refunds of $56 million after being sued and also paid $350,000 judgment.

Credit Bureau Center: Filed 2017, won in court 2018. Case involved promises of free credit reports but enrolled victims in a continuity plan and kept charging for the service. Judgment of $5.2 million.

XXL: Filed 2017, settled in 2018. FTC with the Maine Attorney General. Case involved memory improvement pills, and joint and back pain pills. Judgment of $6.57 million.

AAFE: Filed as a settlement in 2017. Case Involved free trial offers for cooking gadgets, golf equipment and online subscriptions. Judgement of $2.5 million.

RevGo: Filed in 2017, settled 2018. Case involved free trials of tooth whiteners and other products. Judgment of $92 million.

Tarr: Filed and resolved in 2017. Case involved free trials for more than 40 weight loss, muscle building, wrinkle reduction products. Claimed endorsement by Will Ferrell, Dr. Oz and Jennifer Anniston. Judgment of $179 million.

Triangle: Filed in 2018. Case Involved free trials for skin creams, electronic cigarettes and other products. Claimed 93% of sales were outside the United States. Case being appealed to the 9th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals. FTC alleges sales were in excess of $30 million.

Apex Capital: Filed November 2018 and now in court. Case involves free trials for personal care products and dietary supplements that they claim will promote weight loss, hair growth, clear skin, muscle development, sexual performance, and cognitive abilities. FTC alleged sales were in excess of $22 million.

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