WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced May 3 that Mikey & Momo Inc. and its principals, Michael Fensterstock and Melissa Matarese Fensterstock, will settle allegations of using deceptive advertising to sell purportedly mosquito-repelling perfume sprays and scented candles.
According to allegations, the defendants marketed their products with the tagline “fragrance with function” and stated that their fragrance products doubled as insect repellents. The FTC said , however, that such marketing was deceptive because it was not backed by scientific studies or evidence. Because of these allegations, the FTC charged the defendants with violating the FTC Act.
The FTC also alleged that multiple five-star reviews written about the defendants products on Amazon actually were written by the one of the defendants and her relatives. To settle all the allegations, the defendants agreed to a ban on deceptive claims and to clearly disclose material connections between a reviewer or endorser and the product under review.
The FTC voted 2-0 to issue the administrative complaint and accept the proposed consent order, which is subject to public comment until June 4. After this date the FTC will determine whether it will finalize the consent order. Details of the proposed order will be published in the Federal Register.