New Jersey Settles Suit Against TrimSpa Distributor

New Jersey Settles Suit Against TrimSpa Distributor

TRENTON, N.J.Dietarysupplement distributor Goen Technologies will pay restitution to customers dupedby a bait-and-switch advertising scheme designed to sell dietary supplementsmarketed for weight loss. Under the terms of the settlement, Goen, the distributor ofTrimSpa and other products, agreed to revise its marketing practices and torecompense customers who filed complaints with the Division of Consumer Affairs.The company also will pay the state $750,000 under terms of the agreement andwill be required in future marketing practices to disclose whether anysupplements are recommended as a part of its seminars, according to the AttorneyGenerals Office.

According to a release from the New Jersey Office of theAttorney General, the suit was filed in 2003 by Attorney General Peter C. Harvey on behalf of customers who bought into a veiledattempted to boost sales of Goen supplements. Advertisements encouraged viewersto pay $59.99 for hypnosis-based seminars designed to help participants lose asmuch as 120 pounds a year or stop smoking, then pitched dietary supplementsmarketed for weight loss, including then ephedra-based TrimSpa, an earlierrelease from the Attorney Generals Office stated.

When [Goen] analyzed the potential costs involved indefending what [it] believes is a litigation without merit, the company made thereasonable business decision to resolve the lawsuit, as costs of this litigationwould have significantly exceeded the amount the Company paid under the terms ofthe settlement, said Alex Goen, chief executive officer (CEO), in a release.

The terms of the settlement have no impact on Goen andthe products it is currently marketing, according to its release. The bottomline is that the settlement requires [Goen] to do nothing different than it ispresently doing in its advertising or product development, said Goen. The companys internal practices and policies ensure thatthe company is delivering only the very best to consumers, which is underscoredby the fact that X32 and the companys two newest products, TrimSpa Ultra andTrimSpa Energy, are backed by IRB-approved double blinded, placebo controlledclinical studies.