Supplement settlement means payouts for 675 Conn. residents
Nearly 700 Connecticut residents are set to receive small refund payments as part of a federal settlement against a group of companies that sold supplements advertised as treatments for pain and other aging-related health conditions.
The Federal Trade Commission is sending just over $1.1 million in refunds to 84,847 consumers nationwide, and the final order settling the federal commission’s complaint says the five companies are prohibited from “making any claims about the health benefits of their products unless they are true and supported by scientific evidence,” according to a news release sent Wednesday.
Connecticut residents are set to receive about $9,000 total in the settlement, according to a federal data portal.
The median payment is $13, and 675 total consumers in Connecticut are expected to get payments via check, according to the commission’s data portal. The case settlement order was signed in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.
The commission filed a complaint in April 2020 against the marketers of Neurocet, Regenify and Resietigen-D. The companies — Mile High Madison Group, Nordic Clinical, Encore Plus Solutions, Le Groupe Mile High Madison and Clinique Nordique.
The companies targeted older people largely through direct-mail campaigns, according to the complaint. The advertisements said the supplements could reduce inflammation, pain and stiffness as well as increase flexibility and mobility.
“These defendants promised miracle cures to people who needed real medical help,” Andrew Smith, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in an April 2020 statement. “Companies need scientific evidence to back up health claims for their products; the commission will continue to take action against marketers who can’t support their claims.”
The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General hasn’t received any complaints related to the three drugs, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
This is the federal commission’s fifth case this month in which consumers have received check refunds. So far this year, there have typically been between three and five cases each month. Since July 2018, nearly 87,000 Connecticut residents have received about $15.7 million in payments from the commission, according to the data portal.
So far in fiscal year 2021, about 3.1 million people nationwide have received settlement checks worth a total of $403.4 million through the commission.