I've long felt that MLMs and the Mormon church have a lot in common. Utah is widely known as the MLM capital of the country.

Three licensed medical practitioners, including a Utah R.N., Lauren Busch, have each been fined $15K by the Federal government for making false medical claims about Utah-based doTERRA essential oils.

"According to the court filings, the defendants are or were distributors for doTERRA International, LLC, a Utah-based multi-level marketing company that sells essential oils, supplements, and other products. The government alleged that, in public webinars that took place in January 2022, each defendant represented that products promoted and offered for sale prevent, reduce the risk or severity of, or cure COVID-19 and long-haul COVID-19 and counteract purported negative effects of COVID-19 vaccinations. Among the many deceptive claims that the government alleged that defendants made were: that the company’s chewable products help prevent children from contracting COVID-19 (Wong); that inhaling essential oils inhibit spike proteins (Busch) and viral replication (Bacot); that certain essential oils prevent the binding of the virus to human cells and help prevent one from contracting COVID-19 (Wong); that certain of the company’s products minimize inflammation from long-haul COVID-19 (Busch); and that the company’s supplements reduce purported negative health effects of COVID-19 vaccinations (Busch). The government alleged that no published report of any well-controlled human clinical study substantiates defendants’ COVID-19-related claims.

The COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, enacted in December 2020, makes it unlawful, for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency, to engage in a deception in commerce associated with the treatment, cure, prevention, mitigation, or diagnosis of COVID 19. Persons who violate the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act may be subject to civil penalties, injunctive relief, and other remedies available under the Federal Trade Commission Act."

The parent company officially forbids such claims, but does little to prevent its distributors from asserting those claims.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-obtains-permanent-injunctions-and-civil-penalties-actions-against-california



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2023 05:44PM by summer.

If one bears one's testimony about one's experience with a product one just happens to be selling, and it can't be proven a lie, is that okay?