New Jersey-based mail order firm Lifestyle Fascination Inc. has agreed to pay a $175,000 civil penalty to settle charges it violated a 1994 Federal Trade Commission order.
The FTC alleges that Lifestyle's claims about four products violated an order prohibiting unsubstantiated claims concerning health benefits and efficacy of electronic products. This is the second penalty against the firm since the 1994 order. In 1997, Lifestyle agreed to pay a $60,000 penalty for unsubstantiated claims about a pain relieving product, a pest-control device and an antenna substitute.
The current claims concern promotions for the Beverly Hills Spa Diet, a fruit juice concentrate drink containing calcium pyruvate, a purported fat burning ingredient; Fight the Fat, a diet product; Carni Q-Gel, a dietary supplement promoted to treat heart problems; and Sani-Mate Plug-In Sterilizer, a portable ozone air cleaner. The FTC alleges the claims made in ads for these products were unsubstantiated or false, and that Lifestyle did not honor its guarantee of a 100% refund to unsatisfied customers.
