FTC Reveals $2 Million Settlement in Acai Berry Supplements Case

WASHINGTON The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday revealed an affiliate network has agreed to pay $2 million to settle charges that its marketers deceived customers through unsubstantiated weight-loss claims on phony news sites about acai berry supplements and "colon cleansers."

The settlement bars Sarasota, Fla.-based Clickbooth affiliate network from a variety of deceptive marketing practices, and the FTC said it will seek to use the $2 million judgment to provide refunds to customers who were duped.

The defendants named in a lawsuit, John Daniel Lemp and two companies he controls, Clickbooth.com, LLC and IntegraClick, LLC, were accused of violating the FTC Act by making false or unsupported claims about weight loss products.

FTC last month announced a separate $2 million settlement as part of a broader government crackdown against 10 affiliate marketing operations alleged to have used fake news websites as a means to promote acai berry weight-loss products.