Dr. Oz guest forced to pay $9 million for weight loss scam

"This case shows that the [FTC] will continue to fight deceptive marketers' attention to prey on consumers"

Published January 27, 2015 7:30PM (EST)

Dr. Mehmet C. Oz       (AP/Lauren Victoria Burke)
Dr. Mehmet C. Oz (AP/Lauren Victoria Burke)

2014 was not a great year for Dr. Oz. Not only was he berated by Sen. Claire McCaskill in a Senate subcommittee hearing for promoting pseudoscience as fact, he was also subject of a scientific article published in the prestigious British Medical Journal which proved that you can't really trust anything the TV doctor says.

Now, Lindsey Duncan, a well-known guest of "The Dr. Oz Show" and "The View," has agreed to pay $9 million to customers after selling fake weight-loss products, including green coffee bean extract.

"Lindsey Duncan and his companies made millions by falsely claiming that green coffee bean supplements cause significant and rapid weight loss," said Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection Jessica Rich. "This case shows that the Federal Trade Commission will continue to fight deceptive marketers' attention to prey on consumers trying to improve their health."

Raw Story's Travis Gettys reports:

Duncan told Dr. Oz Show viewers that his claims were backed by a clinical study, but the company that sponsored the study settled FTC charges in September that found it to be severely flawed...

Duncan continued to promote his products using his Dr. Oz appearance online and in retail stores, the FTC said, and they paid spokespeople to tout the extract without disclosing their financial ties.

Watch the clip below to see Duncan's appearance on Dr. Oz.


By Joanna Rothkopf

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Dr. Oz Federal Trade Commission Health Video Weight Loss