FTC Announces $500,000 Settlement in Double Shot Weight-Loss Scam

WASHINGTON—The FTC today announced enforcement action against yet another company that allegedly duped consumers with claims that they could shed pounds without dieting or exercising.

The Quebec-based marketers of Double Shot have agreed to pay $500,000 to settle the charges filed by the agency, according to an FTC press release.

Using direct mail advertising, Manon Fernet and a company controlled by her and that conducted business as the “Freedom Center Against Obesity" claimed consumers could lose up to 20 pounds in a week without having to exercise or worry about their calorie intake, the FTC said.

“This plate of spaghetti has 720 calories! But when you take DOUBLE SHOT you will only absorb… 72 calories!", a man (Dr. Joseph Breechman) who was identified as the director of weight-loss research for the Freedom Center Against Obesity was quoted as saying in the mailer.

Under the settlement with the FTC, the defendants are banned from manufacturing or marketing weight-loss products or assisting others in doing so. The settlement also bars the defendants from making claims about the effectiveness or health benefits of any dietary supplement, food, drug, or device unless the claims are true and the defendants have competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate them. Finally, the settlement prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting the results of any study when marketing a dietary supplement, food, drug, or device, and from asserting the benefits of such a product are scientifically proven when they are not.

“These defendants made outrageous claims about their supposed weight-loss treatment, and encouraged overweight consumers to forgo diet and exercise," said Jessica Rich, the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. “This order should send a strong message that the Commission does not tolerate such fraudulent advertising."

Natural Products INSIDER could not immediately reach the defendants for comment. According to the FTC, the company is incorporated as 7734956 CANADA INC, and also did business as Meilleures Sélections Du Globe.