WASHINGTON, D.C. — A California company accused by the federal government of using a network of online marketers to deceptively sell a variety of health-related products has agreed to pay $6.4 million to resolve the claims.
According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Tarr Inc., used fake news articles, websites, celebrity endorsements and customer testimonials to sell their products relating to weight loss, muscle building and anti-wrinkle solutions. The fraudulent websites were made to look like real news and magazine sites such as goodhousekeeping.com, menshealth.com and womenshealthi.com, the FTC said, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/11/internet-marketers-dietary-supplement-skincare-products-banned. The websites not only featured celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Paula Deen and Dr. Oz with fake endorsements but also had deceptive offers for "free and "risk-free" trials, according to the FTC.
The settlement includes barring Tarr from any further deceptive marketing actions, and the FTC has mailed more than 200,000 checks to consumers who purchased products as part of the scam, according to the commission.