Feds Claim Enzyte Stiffs Customers
Male Enhancement Pill Maker Found Guilty of Fraud And False Claims
The makers of the herbal supplement have been involved in legal struggles for 4 years. Now a federal court has found that owner Warshak lied to customers.
The commercials feature a man with a large grin as women disregard others to be near him. The voiceover touts that a natural male enhancement pill made him bigger and anyone can have a 30 day trial for free. Made by Berkeley Nutraceuticals Inc., the Enzyte website states that it has been the number one selling male enhancement pill for five years.
In March 2004, a class action suit was filed in Montgomery County, Ohio on behalf of customers who claimed the company used false statistics and refused to follow through on their claims of a ‘double your money back’ guarantee. The lawfirm representing the plaintiffs, Hagens Berman, issued a press release outlining the claims. In addition to questioning the marketing tactics, the attorneys pointed to alterations on the company’s own website that stated that their product would not fulfill the previous claims. It was only the beginning of the company’s troubles.
Berkeley was incorporated in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1996 to offer ‘vitamin and food supplements. The Cincinnati Better Business Bureau provides six websites associated with their products and twelve dietary supplements offered in their product line that fall under the 30 day offer advertised in the infamous commercials. Berkeley is not a member of the BBB and has not responded to the agency’s request in July 2007 for more information about their ‘home delivery plan’ and automatic billing policies which have been the subject of numerous complaints.
Executive Warshak Indicted
In 2006, Steven Warshak, the owner of Berkeley Nutraceuticals, was indicted on 112 federal counts including conspiracy, money laundering, and mail, wire, and bank fraud. Warshak’s mother and five others were also named in the indictment along another of his companies, TCI Media Inc. The charges account for $100 million of a reported $250 million made by the company. Earlier that year, in March 2006, the Ohio class action suit had been settled for several million dollars; some sources state $4.7 million and others $2.5 million.
On February 22, 2008 a federal court handed down a guilty verdict for Warshak and his mother, as first reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer. The Berkeley owner and president could face 20 years in prison. Former employees had pled guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. The Associated Press reported that their testimony included claims of fictitious doctors, a fabricated customer-satisfaction survey, and made up numbers in Enzyte’s claims.
Ingredients That Increase Blood Flow
As of 36 hours after the federal court’s decision, the product’s website is still up and offering the supplements. The claims include the ability to produce firmer male arousal and increased sexual performance through increased blood flow. The ingredients include basic herbal and vitamin remedies such as zinc and niacin. The “proprietary blend” is the bulk of the pills and include gingko biloba and ginseng extracts as well as something curiously called horny goat weed. Also known as epimedium or yin yang huo, the plant is from old Chinese medicine and consists of many species of the leafy plant. Touted for the ability to increase libido, what is known is that the plant contains flavonoids, sterols, complex sugars (polysaccharides), and magnaflorine. Flavonoids are antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. What benefits the pills may deliver can actually be achieved by a good diet.
