FTC Halts Seaweed Patch Weight-Loss Claims

WASHINGTON--Various United Kingdom-based defendants have settled charges with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for fraudulent marketing of seaweed-based weight-loss patches sold in the United States, after a related case was settled last year. The deal includes a fine equal to $150,000 in profits made from the offending products, Hydro Gel Slim Patch and Slenderstrip, in addition to an avalanche clause of $5.3 million, due if it is found the defendants misrepresented their financial status. Under terms of the agreement, the defendants will be banned from manufacturing, advertising, or selling any dietary supplement, food, drug, or weight-loss product in the United States; they are also barred from making claims about other health-related products or services without support from credible scientific evidence. The settlement further requires the defendants to provide FTC a list of consumers who purchased either of the products and prohibits the parties from disclosing their mailing lists to others, except as required by law.

FTC filed its original complaint against the products in December 2003 but added Kingstown Associates, Ltd.; BVW Associates, Inc.; Gary Bush; David Varley; and Laurence White in May 2004, after the agency discovered these parties had orchestrated the manufacturing, advertising, and selling of the patches in the United States. The original defendants settled the initial case in September 2004.