October 1, 2003
The promoterse of the "Ab Force" exercise belt have been charged with falsely claiming that their belt can help consumers lose weight, get "chiseled" abs and avoid the rigors of actual exercise.
Telebrands Corp. and TV Savings LLC are named in a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The charges are similar to those filed earlier against the promoters of three other Ab belts -- the Ab Tronic, AB Energizer, and Fast Abs.
The Commission alleged that the marketers of those products falsely advertised that users would get "six pack" or "washboard" abs without exercise.
In July 2003, the FTC announced a settlement of over $5 million resolving the Fast Abs litigation. The Commission also announced that the U.S. district court in Nevada granted the FTC's motion for partial summary judgment against five of the seven Ab Tronic defendants, holding them liable for $83 million in redress. The AB Energizer case still is pending.
"There is no 'free ride' on misleading advertising," said Howard Beales, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "If you purposely evoke the false claims made for a similar product, then your ads also are deceptive. And you should expect to hear from the FTC."
The FTC's complaint, filed before an administrative law judge, alleges that the New Jersey-based respondents violated the FTC Act by representing that Ab Force could produce the same results touted in the deceptive infomercials for Ab Tronic, AB Energizer, and Fast Abs.
Those infomercials essentially claimed that users could achieve weight loss, fat loss, and inch loss, get well-developed abs, and obtain results that were equivalent to volitional exercise. The Ab Force ads show well-muscled, bare-chested men and lean, shapely women wearing Ab Force belts and purportedly experiencing abdominal contractions.
The ads expressly referred to "those fantastic electronic ab belt infomercials on TV" that the announcer is "sure" the viewer has seen. According to the FTC's complaint, the Ab Force ads, including through references to the prior ab infomercials, falsely claimed that:
Previous Actions
The FTC has taken four previous actions against Telebrands and its owner, Ajit Khubani.
In 1990 and 1996, the Commission obtained consent judgments prohibiting Khubani and his corporations from violating the Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (Mail Order Rule) and requiring them to pay penalties of $35,000 (1990) and $95,000 (1996).
In 1999, the FTC modified the existing 1996 consent judgment with the defendants and obtained penalties of $800,000 to resolve alleged violations of the Mail Order Rule. In addition, in 1996, the FTC obtained an administrative order prohibiting Khubani and Telebrands from violating the FTC Act in connection with the marketing of television antennas and hearing aids.
In an administrative trial, the FTC will seek to prohibit Telebrands, TV Savings, and Khubani from making any misrepresentations about Ab Force or any other EMS device. The FTC also will seek to prohibit them from making any unsubstantiated representations about weight, inch, or fat loss, muscle definition, or the health benefits, safety, or efficacy of Ab Force or any EMS device, or any food, drug, dietary supplement, device, or any other product, service, or program.
In addition, as set forth in the notice order, the FTC is seeking to require Khubani to obtain a $1 million performance bond before engaging in any manufacturing, labeling, advertising, promotion, offering for sale, sale, or distribution of any device.
