SEATTLE--A chain of diet centers has been forced to settle a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Rob McKenna for the second time in less than a year.
LA Weight Loss must pay up to $50,000 in refunds to customers who request reimbursement of enrollment fees to the club, while sister chain NWM must pay $40,000. The company also will pay an undisclosed amount to cover attorneys' fees and other costs. The company paid a settlement in December 2005 that included $800,000 for customer restitution.
The attorney general's office claimed it had received further complaints about LA Weight Loss and NWM following the settlement and so it sent "secret shoppers" to all 19 Washington outlets of the two clubs. The shoppers witnessed "a classic bait-and-switch routine in which employees pushed the sale of protein bars and nutritional supplements after consumers had enrolled in the program," McKenna said.
The chains must now disclose all costs upfront and which purchases aren't necessary. They also must back up any health or weight loss claims for their products and follow FDA regulations.
WASHNGTON (Legal Newsline) - The federal government plans to withhold nearly a half-million dollars the next time it doles out Medicaid funding to the State of West Virginia as a result of a settlement engineered by state Attorney General Darrell McGraw.
