Firm to Halt False Claims for Diet Pills

A Tustin company that advertised its weight-loss pill as “the diet miracle of the ‘90s” has agreed to stop making false claims about the product, which was the subject of an eight-month investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, federal authorities said Wednesday.

No criminal charges have been filed against Jordon Whitney Inc. or its officers, John. J. and Clare W. Kogler of Santa Ana, said Postal Inspector Donald Obritsch. Such charges could be filed if the Koglers break their consent agreement with the postal service.

According to the agreement, which was signed on July 24, the Koglers also must refund all money spent on Anorex 2000 to customers who request it, Obritsch said. The Koglers could not be reached for comment.

‘Fat-Burning Machine’

Obritsch said that the Koglers have agreed to stop “falsely representing that Anorex 2000 will aid in weight loss or fat reduction.”

Jordon Whitney advertised Anorex 2000 in about 100 newspapers nationwide between January and April. The ads bragged that the product would turn the body into a “fat-burning machine,” Obritsch said.

Anorex 2000 was touted as “an all-natural, bioactive diet pill,” Obritsch said.

“The advertisement said, ‘Researchers warn that Anorex 2000 is an extremely powerful anorectic agent and should not be taken lightly,’ ” he recounted. “ ‘If weight drops too fast, Anorex 2000 should not be taken for several days.’ ”

Vitamins and Fiber

But during the postal service investigation, the pills were examined by a professor of medicine at UCLA, who concluded that the product “is useless, fraudulent, and intended to deceive a gullible buyer,” according to an affidavit.

While the pills are not harmful, Dr. E.J. Drenick surmised that they contain only vitamins and fiber. A 30-day supply cost dieters $36.95, plus $3 for delivery.

Although postal inspectors have no idea how many diet pills were sold or how much the company took in with its fraudulent ads, Obritsch said, the firm received about 200 letters a day.