Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shuts down Seasilver

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A Roundup of the News on FTC Action against Seasilver

Seasilver Resumes Sales
Seasilver has resumed sales after agreeing to institute some of the strictest compliance guidelines ever issued as a result of a health-related enforcement action. The rules prohibit distributors with Web sites from using meta tags that suggest any prohibited claim.

Seasilver agrees to warn consumers about its product
[17 July 2003] Seasilver USA, the Carlsbad multilevel marketing company shuttered by the Federal Trade Commission in a suit over an allegedly mislabeled nutritional supplement, has agreed to the terms of a court order that includes a declaration that the company's nutritional supplement has little or no value in the treatment of cancer, diabetes or other diseases ---- despite company claims to the contrary. To buy a bottle of the product, a consumer must acknowledge having read and understood the disclaimer, according to the injunction, and distributors for the company will be responsible for guaranteeing that the disclaimer is acknowledged.

Sea SilverUpdate Regarding FTC and FDA Legal Actions; Tentative Plans to Resume Operations
[16 July 2003] The Stipulated Preliminary Injunction adopts all the terms of the previous TRO, including the order that Seasilver and its business associates shall not make any unsubstantiated claims as to the health benefits of the product.

After Sanctions Against Seasilver And Coral Calcium, What’s Next?
The Dietary Supplement Industry Begs To Be Regulated With Onerous New Legislation [Open Letter To The Natural Products Industry by Bill Sardi - health Journalist; June 24, 2003]

FTC: Supplement Cancer Claims Fraudulent
Agency Moves Against Seasilver, Coral Calcium Supreme
[American Cancer Society News; 23 June 2003] Last week the FTC filed a lawsuit against the makers and distributors of the liquid supplement Seasilver, charging the companies with making false health statements about the product. The companies marketed Seasilver as a treatment or cure for 650 diseases, including cancer, AIDS, diabetes and Lyme disease, according to the complaint.

Seasilver: What's in a bottle, anyway?
[NCTimes.com; 21 June, 2003] U.S. marshals on Tuesday seized the company's $5.3 million inventory of Seasilver. The FDA filed a separate complaint Monday alleging ongoing sanitation problems at the manufacturing facility where Seasilver is made."I wouldn't drink it," said Jacqueline Trischman, an assistant professor of chemistry at Cal State San Marcos who specializes in marine natural products chemistry.

FTC, FDA: Supplement Maker Made False Claims
[DMNews.com; June 20, 2003] U.S. District Court in Nevada issued a temporary restraining order June 13 prohibiting the defendants from making the challenged claims and freezing their assets. In addition, the FTC seeks restitution to consumers who bought the product.

Thousands of bottles of "Seasilver" seized in government fraud investigation
[13WVEC.com; 20 June 2003] The dietary supplement "Seasilver" is bogus, the government says. And it's seized more than 132,000 bottles of the liquid supplement.

Hundreds Of Seasilver Employees Get Pink Slips
[NBC Sandiego.com; 20 Jun 2003] Employees of a Carlsbad dietary supplement manufacturer that was closed this week by a federal court order have been laid off.

Now it's official: Seasilver employees are laid off
[MSNBC.com; June 20, 2003] Employees of Seasilver Inc., the Carlsbad dietary supplement manufacturer shut down Monday under a federal court order, returned Thursday to the company's headquarters to receive their paychecks, only to be given the word upon arrival that they were being laid off.

Feds seize $5.3 million in diet supplement
Unfounded claims made about product
[HoustonChronicle.com; June 20, 2003]

Feds charge "Seasliver" makers with fraud
[WashingtonTimes.com; June 20, 2003]

Regulators seize dietary supplement
FTC charges makers of Seasilver with false statements
[CNN Health; June 20, 2003] The FTC said the Carlsbad, California.-based companies, Americaloe Inc. and Seasilver USA Inc., promoted the liquid supplement as a safe treatment or cure for 650 diseases, including AIDS, Lyme disease, various cancers and diabetes in nine out of 10 patients. The companies also claimed Seasilver could produce substantial and permanent weight loss without dieting, the FTC alleged.

Regulators Seize Dietary Supplement
[Yahoo News; June 19, 2003] The government has seized more than 132,000 bottles of a dietary supplement promoted with allegedly deceptive claims it could cure hundreds of diseases, including AIDS (news - web sites) and cancer, federal regulators said Thursday.

US regulators sue marketers of silver supplement
[Reuters Alert June 19, 2003] U.S. regulators announced on Thursday the seizure of $5.3 million worth of a dietary supplement that marketers had said could cure diabetes, cancer and AIDS despite having no substantiated medical evidence. Last year, Montana senatorial candidate Stan Jones turned blue after drinking a homemade silver concoction.

FTC, FDA Actions Put Seasilver Makers Out of Business
[NaturalProductsInsider.com; June 19, 2003] In April 2002, FDA wrote Berkes, threatening regulatory action if the company did not stop making unsubstantiated claims on its product. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for June 26 in Las Vegas.

No Silver Lining for Marketers of Bogus Supplement; Federal Agencies Crack Down on Health Fraud
[FTC Press release; June 19, 2003] FTC Charges Marketers of Seasilver with Making False and Deceptive Claims; FDA Seizes Seasilver Inventories. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced coordinated actions against two companies - both charged with promoting the dietary supplement "Seasilver" with unsubstantiated medical claims. The FTC alleges that the defendants' ads and promotional materials represented that Seasilver: (1) treats or cures cancer; (2) enables nine out of ten diabetes patients to stop their insulin medication; and (3) causes rapid, substantial, and permanent weight loss without dieting. The FTC charges that these and other claims go beyond existing scientific evidence on any of the ingredients contained in the product, and therefore, are false and unsubstantiated.

Government seizes Carlsbad company
[NCTimes.com; June 17, 2003] The federal government seized the offices of a Carlsbad company Monday in connection with a lawsuit brought against the firm by the Federal Trade Commission. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, alleges that the company makes false and unsubstantiated claims when advertising its product, a dietary supplement advertised on the Internet as a wonder cure for almost any condition.

Supplement Maker Reportedly Under Federal Investigation
Agents Carry Off Documents From Carlsbad Company
[NBCSanDiego.com; June 17, 2003]

Seasilver Product Under Federal Investigation
Liquid Supplement Claims To Strengthen Immune System, Cleanse Vital Organs
[Thesandiegochannel.com; June 17, 2003] Company employees arrived to work on Monday and were greeted with extra security and a two-page statement telling employees that the Federal Trade Commission had filed a lawsuit and was temporarily shutting the firm down.

With Coral Calcium Scam Exposed Is Sea Silver Next?
By Bill Sardi [June 17, 2003]

SeaSilver shut down by the FTC (forum posts)

SEASILVER Warning Letter From the FDA
[April 3, 2002]

FTC Operation Cure.All
The Federal Trade Commission is targeting false and unsubstantiated health claims on the Internet through Operation Cure.All - a law enforcement and consumer education campaign. This website offers information for consumers on how to recognize health fraud, guidance for businesses on how to market health products and services truthfully, and information about the FTC's initiatives.

Misleading Claims for Seasilver™
By Stephen Barrett, M.D.

Silver - The Dark Side of a New Health Craze
For more than 40 years we have known that silver is a hard, proven carcinogen - a cancer-causing agent. Metallic silver is listed in the 1979 Registry of Toxic Effects as causing cancer in animals. Its action as an antibiotic comes from the fact that it is a non-selective toxic "biocide."

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Links for SeaSilver Distributors

FTC Complaint and the Court's Temporary Restraining Order on the Seasilver Corporate Website

Court Appointed Temporary Receiver; Email to Distributors
[MLMWatchdog.com; June 17, 2003]

Cease all Seasilver advertising
[June 20, 2003; Forum Post by Mike Laird, Max Health, LLC]
If you continue to keep your website up, the FTC has the right to include you in their lawsuit and shut down your business, including ceasing your assets. They are looking for non-compliant Seasilver distributors that are marketing "claims". Please remove your advertising of Seasilver immediately.

Seasilver Distributor Forums

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