February 9, 2021 – A Baltimore-based company, Agora Financial, LLC, and several of its affiliates have agreed to pay more than $ 2 million to clear Federal Trade The commission accused the seniors of buying leaflets, newsletters, and other publications that falsely promised a cure for type 2 diabetes or promoted a false plan to help them benefit from a government-affiliated check program.
In addition to the monetary judgment used to reimburse defrauded consumers, the proposed settlement prevents Agora and the other defendants from making such false or unsupported claims.
“These defendants have primarily persecuted elderly consumers with false or unfounded claims about the cure for diabetes and free money from the government,” said Daniel Kaufman, acting director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC has a long history of taking legal action against such misleading claims and companies that fail to substantiate their scientific and financial statements can face the consequences.”
According to the FTC’s October 2019 complaint, Agora and some of its affiliates primarily aimed their publications, including the Physician’s Guide to Reversing Diabetes in 28 Days (Physician’s Guide), to older consumers across the country. Agora has mistakenly marketed The Doctor’s Guide as a simple and scientifically proven protocol that can permanently cure Type 2 diabetes in 28 days without changing diet or exercise.
The FTC alleged that the defendants falsely touted a “100 percent success rate” and claimed that “mainstream” treatments were ineffective and could even make consumers’ diabetes worse. The company’s marketing materials for The Doctor’s Guide misleadingly announced that the disease, which Agora claimed was caused by electronic devices, was cured with a combination of natural products such as Himalayan Silk, Epsom Blue and Chromanite could be.
In its complaint, the FTC also alleged that Agora and a second group of related defendants had marketed other publications, including a book entitled ‘Secret’ $ 1.17 trillion Congressional Giveaway to Consumers which had falsely promised to show them How They Can Claim Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars You are eligible in Congressional Checks or Republican Checks.
However, consumers who purchased these products found that they were merely describing an investment strategy that focuses on dividend-paying stocks and would require consumers to risk thousands of dollars to get the amounts promised.
The proposed informed consent to settle the FTC’s complaint prohibits Agora and the other defendants from making the kind of misrepresentations about diabetes they allegedly made in the Doctor’s Guide without competent and reliable scientific evidence.
The order also forbids the defendants to provide information on the health benefits, performance or effectiveness of the products or programs compared without specific justification. misrepresentation that a Covered Product does not require consumers to restrict their diet or make dietary changes; and the misrepresentation that a Covered Product is scientifically or clinically proven when it is not.
The order also prevents defendants from making the financial misrepresentations alleged in the complaint, misrepresenting other material facts about their publications, and making financial claims without first disclosing any terms such as risks, costs, restrictions, limitations, or terms of the program.
The commission voted 4-0 for the proposed settlement arrangement. The FTC submitted the proposed order in the US District Court for the Maryland District, Northern Division. For a full list of individual and corporate defendants in this case, please visit the FTC website in the order proposed. The companies’ defendants are subsidiaries of Monument & Cathedral, which oversees a large corporation of more than 80 different companies that together market more than 400 different products, programs, or services to consumers.
The Federal Trade Commission is committed to promoting competition and protecting and educating consumers. For more information on consumer issues and how to report fraud, fraud and bad business practices, please visit ReportFraud.ftc.gov online. Like the FTC, follow us on Facebook (link is external) on Twitter (link is external), receive customer notifications, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases with the latest FTC news and resources.
PRESS RELEASE REFERENCE:
FTC is suing publisher for targeting seniors with bogus diabetes cure and money-making systems
Source: FTC
