Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), chair of the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee, said Monday she will hold a hearing next month on deceptive weight loss advertising claims to see if there is more that can be done to stop them,
The FTC Monday filed suit against Pure Green Coffee for marketing dietary supplements online as a quick way to lose weight without diet or exercise after being promoted on syndicated show The Dr. Oz Show—the sites featured clips from the show. The FTC has long warned against such claims without evidence.
“Today’s action by the FTC marks another step in the fight to bring these scam artists to justice," said McCaskill. "But we know there are dozens if not hundreds of companies out there engaged in similar deception, preying on vulnerable consumers. It’s critical we continue to show companies out there that choose deceitful marketing practices that their false claims won’t be tolerated. Consumers deserve to know exactly what product they’re buying, and that’s why I’ll be holding a hearing next month to look into these practices and what more we can do to protect consumers.”
Pure Green Coffee is also accused of creating fake news Web sites and appropriating logos from CNN and MSNBC to lend credibility.
