A tiny purple fruit grows on an acai palm tree in the Amazon. A few years ago, nobody knew what a powerhouse of nutrition it was. Nor did they know how famous this acai berry would become in a very short time.
More energy, a reduction of aging and smoothness of skin as a result of eating the berry, has many people touting it as the most nutritious fruit in the world. It is said to prevent heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and improve sleep while aiding digestion. In the Amazon, the fruit is eaten fresh, but for convenience sake the fruit is freeze dried and sold as Acai capsules here or as a juice. This is how the purity is retained. Just think, a capsule a day may keep the doctor away.
US District judge order CCN to stop ALL acai berry internet operations
More than a year after the US attorney general issued a $1.37 million dollar fine against Central Coast Nutraceuticals (CCN) for deceptive business practices that didn’t have much effect, it looks like CCN will finally be shut down. The FTC followed up and convinced a US district judge to issue the injunction against CCN, which effectively halts ALL their operations
After listening to consumers complaints for 2 years now, the FTC has taken action again. They convinced a US federal district judge to issue an injunction against one of the biggest companies behind the Acai Berry Free Trial scams, Central Coast Nutraceuticals (CCN), effectively halting all their internet operations and freezing their bank accounts.
Its about time! Yes, the FTC is a government bureaucracy, so moves very slowly. They’ve been inundated with complaints from tens of thousands of irate consumers now, with estimates of over a MILLION victims of these scams. To be fair, they did make a case A YEAR ago against a Texas man who was a force behind these schemes in the early days. He quit the business and was fined a few thousand dollars – about what you pay for a big traffic ticket!
Here’s the strange part of the big fuss they are making about this single case - The US attorney general made a big fuss in June 2009 about a record fine against an acai berry distributor. Guess who it was? CCN! With hundreds of websites and dozens of companies pushing these scams all over the internet, the FTC makes a big deal about a court decision to stop the SAME COMPANY that the US attorney general supposedly shut down OVER A YEAR AGO! Please forgive my cynical nature, but it sounds like the different government agencies are fighting for credit over the same case. Either that, or the $1.37 million fine last year didn’t convince CCN to stop. In which case, why didn’t the US Attorney general do more LAST YEAR?
Ok, enough with being cynical. It sounds like CCN is finally being shut down. Lets hope the FTC keeps the pressure up and pursues more cases to shut down the rest of the scumbags.
If you have been a victim by one of these acai berry scams and would like to file a complaint and perhaps get a judgement against the people behind it all, contact:
David O’Toole
FTC Midwest Region, Chicago
312-960-5634