The Federal Trade Commission reached financial settlements with two marketing groups charged with deceptive advertising practices.
Biddeford, ME-based Pinnacle Marketing LLC and principals Todd Flaherty, Matthew Tasker and Kevin Curty agreed to pay $219,000 in consumer redress to settle charges associated with a product claimed to reduce weight without diet or exercise.
Pinnacle promoted dietary supplements on radio in Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston and in newspapers such as The Washington Post and Detroit Free Press, via Internet coupons and on-air interactive TV program guides, according to the FTC.
The settlement with Pinnacle also covers related firms doing business under the names Health Remedies, Acadia Skin Care, Atlantic Skin Care, Atlantic Skin Care Products and Pinnacle Marketing Group LLC. A clause in this settlement raises the amount due to $22.5 million if a court finds that the defendants misrepresented their financial condition.
Another Maine firm, VisionTel Communications LLC, and principals Michael McNaboe, David Amato and Robert Dall, agreed to pay $750,000 to resolve allegations related to advertised claims of one of its product’s sexual potency. The settlement covers firms doing business as Vision Laboratories, MJ Management, Mad Marketing Inc. and LLAD Management Inc.
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