WWW DietFraud.com

4936 Yonge St.    Toronto is the Bogus Weight Loss and Nutrition Capital of the World This ad in a major Canadian daily newspaper says: The Body and Face of your dreams You dream of losing weight, of looking 10 years younger. In reality it's back to just another daydream, or maybe it's a nightmare. The crux of this story is that a major daily paper made thousands, while Canadian consumer continue to pay the price. On Friday, March 3, 2000 yet another major fraud was perpetrated on Canadian consumers. Yet another business scam that operates out of the "second floor" of Toronto's infamous 4936 Yonge St. placed another major advertisment in yet another major daily, the Calgary Herald. The "product" is called Thermogenix-Enzymax, and it's allegedly "made" by a company called Labo Genova. I can find no record of a trademark, phone number for any company by that name. The ad said simply that the gullible public should send them lots of money; up to $135 in the form of a check or money order. No credit cards, no C.O.D. What does that tell you about the scammers? What does that tell you about the credibility of the Calgary Herald, and Southam Canada for accepting that ad? If you were in management at the Calgary Herald wouldn't you be a bit more selective over the types of companies that you do business with? Would you take an advertisement from just any company, especially a half-page ad, without requiring the company to declare who they really are in the ad? What's even worse, when I called and spoke to responsible people at the Herald to ask them to retract the advertisement because it violates so many advertising standards that it isn't funny, they basically told me that they would do no such thing. I find that contemptible. It is a slam against their readers and the Canadian government. We are not talking about retracting a wrong sale price on an item here, we are talking about a making a public apology for accepting a fraudulent advertisement. The ad was expensive and slick. It filled a half page with claims that their miracle product contains a powerful enzyme, hyaluronidase, capable of treating severe cases of cellulite linked to acids. It dissolves water and fat trapped under the skin. Enzymes circulating in subcutaneous lipds. Enzyme absorbing an adipocyte (fat cell). Digestion and evacuation via natural internal pathways. The advertisement contained no other ingredients, no disclaimers of any kind, except this simple "WARNING": WARNING - THE RESULTS YOU WILL EXPERIENCE MIGHT SEEM SPECTACULAR TO YOU. SUCH WEIGHT LOSS IN POSSIBLY A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IS NOT UNUSUAL. IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO REGAIN THE POUNDS YOU'VE LOST. I suggested that Conrad Black read this, and get back to me, but I'm not going to hold my breath. His empire is no different than Rupert Murdoch who has the distinction of being one of the principals in The News Corporation, the one who brought you Aebion diet scams in major Canadian newspapers over the last two years. The way I figure, their papers are trying to outscam each other. Here is what they could learn by following the recommendations in this fraudulent ad: They could take the product and "lose unsightly inches in under an hour". I think that since the brains of advertising executives, scammers, and newspaper paper pedlars weigh as much as an average walnut, I'd start with the frontal lobe. I'd like to see the rest of the brain revealed, once that part is shrink-wrapped. It's an "alternative to plastic surgery and liposuction". Yesirree, can you imagine Conrad Black, knealing in front of the Queen to receive the order of the British Empire and all she can say to him is, "Conrad, before I tap you on the shoulders, can you tell me what the secret is to your success?" Conrad replies by slipping her a free coupon to get some Thermogenix-Enzymax from his stash in the Cayman Islands. They have two choices - a formula to lose weight in the face and neck or one to lose weight on the body. It's actually quite simple really, one you stick up your nose, the other you find a place where the sun don't shine, and blow. They could look 10 years younger. I like that. When they keel over after snorting or rubbing it on the wrong body part, their embalmer won't have to waste any formaldehyde, or makeup. I've read the ad over and over and I still don't know what it is, if it's liquid, solid, or just hot air. I don't know what the difference is between the face or body formula, the basic, plus, or or intensive forms. They could make an appointment with their teams of doctors who have "discovered a molecule that when combined with enzymes and silicon regenerates skin tissue and rejuvenates one's face and body for years to come - without side effects or surgery?" Problem is, I don't think that the lawyers for Dow Chemical would like to hear that silicon is being used again to change body configuration. Who exactly are Lydia Nardi or Aline Baliand? Have they been in any other ads for other products to help you reshape your body? Do they live in Montreal? Who got the advertising commission at the Calgary Herald or at other Southam Newspapers? Hey Conrad, have you tried this stuff? I think that if you want to win the Ig-Nobel prize for journalism, you better talk to the editor and publisher at the Herald about a change of climate. How could the Calgary Herald, a Southam Newspaper (National Post), accept an advertisement for this nonsense?

Location is Everything    I've previously investigated several companies who operate out of the "same building", and on the "same floor" as Labo Genova. I've reported them to the goverment and to the Advertising Standards Council and have come up with a big fat zero in response. One of the other companies has been doing business in Toronto for years, at many locations and departments. How could these folks afford to move almost every 3 to 4 months? It's easy, 4936 Yonge St. is just a Mail Boxes Etc. outlet. There are dozens of scammers and bunko artists who operate out of mailbox frachise operations around the world. It's just that this one is perhaps the most popular one in Canada. Some of the companies that have operated out of that MBE location have been cited many times by the United States FDA. Yet, Health Canada, and the Competition Bureau, and the RCMP leaves them alone. Why? Gero Vita is the creme of the top of the slag heap for MBE based scams. A. Glenn Braswell's Dietary Supplement Enterprise Targeted by FTC May 27, 2003 FTC Challenges False and Unsubstantiated Claims The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint in federal district court against A. Glenn Braswell and four of his corporations challenging allegedly false and unsubstantiated advertising claims for numerous dietary supplements marketed under the Gero Vita and Theraceuticals brand names. The complaint also names as a defendant corporate officer Ron Tepper. The complaint challenges claims that five dietary supplements treat or cure respiratory disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, obesity, and erectile dysfunction. The FTC is seeking permanent injunctive relief, consumer redress, and a permanent ban against Braswell's participation in any business engaged in the advertising or sale of health-related products. The other one is Aebion that marketed diet patches and Chinese Herbal Weight Loss Tea. More than just diet fraud Money from Toronto may be headed for terrorists. - Toronto Sun Authorities suspect Canadian-based telemarketing scams that bilk Americans of billions of dollars each year are being used to fund international crime and terrorism. U.S. Federal Trade Commission has estimated Americans' net loss to Canadian-based frauds at $30 billion US. In fact, Toronto is home to more than 200 fraud operations at any given moment and is a world leader in the "advance-fee loan" fraud. At least two of them operated under the cover provided by MBE at 4936 Yonge St. police say nearly all the firms can be traced back to five or six groups of criminals who use false addresses, mail boxes, cell phones and boiler rooms to rob their victims. Or, Cherie D, part of a chain letter scam. - $$$Turn $6.00 into $30,000.00 in 6 weeks$$$ Meet hot gorgeous women - KERA Vision Smart Card Development Tools - Just in case you have a hard time cracking those really tough "smart cards". And don't forget Ron Katz says that, "Our smart card terminals are sold for development use only and are not intended for manipulating any copyrighted data within any smart card that may be protected under U.S. Canadian or any international copyright laws." But, don't forget, you can't talk to them by phone, and they don't have a retail location.

"Do Nothing" Policies    OUR GOVERNMENTS' "DO NOTHING" POLICIES ENCOURAGE REPEAT FLIM-FLAMS When is the government of Canada going to take action against the newspapers and the companies who market this junk on unsuspecting consumers. One of the offices of the Health Protection Branch is at 4900 Yonge St. a few yards away from the building that has housed all these scam artists for years. We demand a complete investigation why the government has failed to take action against any of these companies. The diet and weight loss scam industry is worth billions in North America, and much of it comes from Canada. In other words our country is a safe-haven for hundreds of scam artists who use the internet and advertise freely in newspapers without fear of investigation by our governement. Someone right now stands to make millions operating from the safety of Toronto, right under the noses of Health Canada and the Ontario government consumer protection branch. But, it doesn't stop there. The advertisement placed with the Calgary Herald again ends its Canadian pipeline somewhere in Montreal. Enough said? This ad takes the prize for the worst weight loss and diet ad I have ever seen in Canada. But, will that stop them from running them in other papers? I don't think so. Chances are, Conrad Black's other papers has already run this or similar ads even as we do this report. We appeal to the ASC, the government, both Provincial and Federal to take control of the fraud artists that are preying on the public. Right now, Canada is the laughing stock of the world when it comes to the control of health quackery. We will continue to do everything possible to educate the Canadian public about scam artists and rogue health care providers on our web sites. But, it seems clear from where I sit, that our governments just doesn't care about false advertising, health scams and the dangerous products that come into our country. They also don't care about mailorder scams that originate here, but are often part of an underground cash-filled pipeline to some island in the Lesser Antilles. The world of health fraud on the internet includes dozens of other stories, some of them are very serious and involve doctors who are try to ship quack cancer drugs out of Canada into the U.S. That's another story, one that we will cover later on.

Office of Natural Health Products    What did the government do about diet and health fraud? Late last year, they decided to form a new office, a spin-off of Health Canada. They appointed a dozen or so people to a transition team, the overwhelming majority supposedly represented the cream of the crop who work in companies that supply Canada with vitamins, herbs, and other alternative health products. These are the very people who can't prove that their products work, who can't prove that there products are safe, and yet the government appoints them to a transition team to set up standards in the natural and herbal product industry. While the product featured in this article is of unknown origin, it is a prime example of what the government has failed to do. Having an Office of Natural Health Products is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop. Don't you think that Health Canada should be getting together with the Competition Bureau and the RCMP to do away with scam artists before they spend one penny of the $7 million earmarked to set up some glitzy office with dozens of bureaucrats that preside over rows and rows of computer terminals, and who subscribe to dozens of newspaper to see what's really being sold. Why hasn't Health Canada or the police visited Mail Boxes Etc. and pressed charges against those other scam artists? The ONHP will be toothless in this cavity filled world of diet and health monsters. In the meantime, how much money has Gero Vita, Aebion, and now Labo Genova made by defrauding the public with false claims and potentially harmful products. I can tell you right now, that they've made a hell of a lot more than $7 million. There's a long list of complaints and convictions against against Gero Vita and it's principal Glen Braswell with Federal authorities and tax evasion courts in the U.S. Yet he has been cited as having been a donor to the Bush campaign for President. - A. Glenn Braswell (Miami, FL): $25,000 This "VITA Industries" Donor Appears to be the Man who Quackwatch says, "probably set a record as the person against whom the Postal Service filed the largest number of health-related false representation claims." A. Glenn Braswell pled guilty to faking before-and-after photos for baldness and bust-enhancement remedies. A. Glenn Braswell, president of Gero Vita Industries in Miami, was charged in the 1970s and '80s with false representation in his mail-order businesses, including faking before-and-after photos for bust-enhancement and baldness remedies. Mr. Braswell, who was sentenced to five years' probation, gave $25,000 to George Bush's gubernatorial bid. Why aren't there any public records of complaints or investigations on the Health Canada, or RCMP web site? Has he or perhaps someone who works for a private mailbox lobbying group also donated to the Liberal party, maybe even the Reform party? That is an interesting thought. Here's a short quote from the January 6, 2000 article in the Seattle Weekly: " Ted Ponich, who was Chief Operating Officer of G.B. Data from 1997 through '98. Ponich told me that Gero Vita is likely the biggest direct marketer of health products in the country, with about $170 million in sales in 1998, and that the company blankets the country with some 20 million mailers every month." I assume that this doesn't include any money earned from their new internet site. The whole situation stinks to hell. Those elected legislators who come from Provinces where these ads have appeared must stand up in Parliament and demand that the government do something about diet and health quackery before someone dies from an herbal or enzyme type of product.

We Demand that Action be Taken Now!    Our web sites will cover the story of government failure to control the false claims made in major publications, on the internet, on the radio and televison info-mercials until something is done. Terry Polevoy, M.D. HealthWatcher.net - Dietfraud.com SEND US YOUR ADVERTISEMENTS: Please send any questionable diet ads in your local paper or magazines from this company. Include the date, the name of the publication, and we will scan them in and forward them to the proper department at the Bureau of Competition of Industry Canada. Please send them even if the ads were in non-Canadian publications. American and other foreign magazines are everywhere. If we don't know that the scams are out there, we won't be able to complain.