The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint against Rejuvica, the makers of Sobrenix, under suspicion that the company, known for marketing products to reduce and eliminate alcohol cravings, may have violated the FTC Act and the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018 (OARFPA), according to a July 19 news release.
“We will not tire in our pursuit of those who prey on individuals struggling with alcohol or other substance use disorders,” Samuel Levine, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection said in the release. “This case evidences the breadth of the FTC’s authority to pursue such wrongdoing under both the FTC Act and OARFPA.”
According to the complaint, Rejuvica and its owners, Kyle Armstrong and Kyle Dilger, made false claims abut Sobrenix, and used paid endorsements to carry out deceptive advertising. The company in question also ran illegitimate review sites, the release reported.
The agency accused the defendants, which include Rejuvica, Armstrong and Dilger, of marketing Sobrenix products to consumers struggling with alcohol addiction. The products were available on their website, as well as large retailers such as Amazon and Walmart, according to the release.
“The complaint further alleges that Rejuvica hired 'experts' to appear on local television stations around the U.S. and Canada,” the release explained. “These 'experts' never disclosed in these appearances that they were paid by Rejuvica, and Rejuvica then highlighted these appearances in their marketing materials as 'news' coverage, failing to disclose they were actually paid advertisements.”
The complaint announced that, under the terms of a court order, the defendants are prohibited from making further claims about any food, drug or dietary supplement, or making other health benefit claims unless they are supported by reliable scientific evidence, the release said.
“The proposed order also prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting the existence, contents, or results of any scientific test or study,” the FTC release explained. “Additionally, the proposed order prohibits the defendants from falsely portraying paid advertisements as legitimate news coverage and requires that all paid endorsements be disclosed as such.”
The company must also pay a $650,00 fine to the FTC, which the complaint says the agency will use to refund customers, with the proposed order totaling to a monetary judgment of $3,247,737, the release reported.
The Commission voted 3-0 in favor of filing the complaint and issuing the final order in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The release said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection staff attorneys Courtney Estep and Shira Modell will oversee the case.
