14 DAY TRIAL // Another marketer behind fake news sites advertising acai berry weight loss products has agreed to pay $1.6 million (1.2 million EUR) to settle the charges brought by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The settlements with Beony International’s owner and one of its employees each impose a $13 million judgment. However, this judgment will be suspended when the defendants pay over $1.6 million (1.2 million EUR) and sell a 2008 Porsche.
However, the FTC says that “if it is later determined that the financial information the defendants provided the FTC was false, the full amount of their judgments will become due.”
This latest agreement is part of the FTC’s operation against 10 online marketers that have leveraged the name and reputation of media outlets such as ABC, Fox News, CNN, CBS and others in order to advertise acai berry diets.
In November, another marketer agreed to pay $2 million (1.5 million EUR) to settle the FTC’s charges.