James Teegarden Jr., the former vice president of operations at Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, explained Tuesday in U.S. District Court how he and others at the company made up much of the content that appeared in Enzyte ads.The company's founder, Steve Warshak, is on trial, facing 20 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines if convicted. More goodness from the VP:He said employees of the Forest Park company created fictitious doctors to endorse the pills, fabricated a customer satisfaction survey and made up numbers to back up claims about Enzyte's effectiveness.
"So all this is a fiction?" Judge S. Arthur Spiegel asked about some of the claims.
"That's correct, your honor," Teegarden said.
When customers ordered a product, the company's goal was to keep charging their credit cards for as long as possible, Teegarden said.What a jackass. Here's the worst part. In order to keep the company from losing its ability to accept credit card payments, they would make small unauthorized charges on their customer's credit cards. This made it appear to Visa and Mastercard that a smaller percentage of their transactions were resulting in charge backs, and allowed them to keep accepting new customers. Evil.He said first-time customers were automatically enrolled in a "continuity program" that sent Enzyte to their homes every month and charged their credit cards without authorization.
"Without continuity, the company wouldn't exist," Teegarden said. "It was the sole profit of the business."
If customers complained, he said, employees were instructed to "make it as difficult as possible" for them to get their money back. In some cases, Teegarden said, Warshak required customers to produce a notarized statement from a doctor certifying Enzyte did not work.
"He said it was extremely unlikely someone would get anything notarized saying they had a small penis," Teegarden said.
Former exec: 'Enzyte' ads all lies [Cincinnati Enquirer via Fleshbot (NSFW)]
]]>@JWISSICK: The FDA may have a lot of flaws, but this isn't one of them. Blame the politicians who passed the ridiculous "supplements" law that took this stuff (along with all the other snake oil treatments for backache, insomnia, toxins in the soles of your feet, etc.) OUT of the FDA's jurisdiction. Top of your list should be Senator Orrin Hatch, in whose state much of this stuff is manufactured.
]]>Nah, the bulls are just all happy and waiting for his first overnight visit.
]]>@johnva:
I agree, but that pesky 1st Amendment keeps getting in the way of making $.
]]>Seriously, why are the broadcasters not taking some responsibility for not accepting this advertising? They reject ads all the time.
]]>@SOhp101: True, but some of the more adventurous slimeballs have gone as far as referring to "a certain part of the male anatomy". Never knew there was such demand for bigger pinky toes.
]]>Mind you it's been about a year since I've watched any significant amount of TV, so maybe I just haven't seen the latest ones.
]]>Christ. I would say the FDA moves about as fast as snail, but that would be doing an injustice to snails.
And because of the snail's pace, there are a few other companies running the same scam.
The judge should just order the CEO and ALL employees of Enzyte to be taken out back and lynched.
]]>While at times they do show a sense of humor, I find that them tedious and annoying.
]]>This is so far off-topic, but @m4ximusprim3: I loved "Celebrity Jeopardy" on Saturday Night Live - one of the very few things that made it watchable!
]]>Also, see [www.enzyte.com] "Enzyte is a carefully blended formula of natural ingredients" such as ginkgo biloba, ginseng, horny goat weed (!!!), saw palmetto, etc. In other words, the same sort of stuff I can get at my local health-food store which prominently displays a list of ailments and the supplements that treat them. I'm certainly not condoning fraud or anything of the kind, but with products like this, you get what you pay for.
]]>Surprisingly, he's actually a very smart guy, and very cool with everyone.
]]>@diamondmaster1: I kinda assumed that was the case as well. Otherwise, he's been taking too much of his own product or something :)
"Ma ballz is so big, I can implicate myself to congress and not get cau.. damint!"
]]>My wife complained that the pills made me ...... smaller.
]]>Ow, my balls!
]]>And if this trial isn't enough, the Church of the Subgenius has a copyright-infringement lawsuit waiting in the wings.
]]>Remember guys, it's not important if you have a big one, just don't be a big one.
]]>Unfortunately regulators dealing with these problems are spread incredibly thin and due process has to be maintained so it can take years to get quack products (like the Q*Ray) off of the market.
]]>Sorry guys, but unless you're willing to go for surgery (which I've heard is very dicey) you're stuck with what you got.
]]>Not surprised it's just another scam tho.
]]>This guy should be facing prison time too if he knew this sh*t all along.
]]>Sean Connery: Gussy it up however you want, Trebek. What matters is does it work? Will it really mighty my penis, man?
Alex Trebek: It's not a product, Mr. Connery.
Sean Connery: Because I've ordered devices like that before - wasted a pretty penny, I don't mind telling you. And if The Penis Mightier works, I'll order a dozen.
]]>Companies should learn not to make inflammatory claims about their product just to raise their bottom line. This is almost as bad as a pump and dump scam. What did they think was gonna happen- we'd erect a statue in their honor?
Stories like this make me want to stand up straight and ejaculate obscenities.
]]>@madanthony: Then you don't know anything about it.
]]>The only reason they could get away with this for as long as they did was because other "real" drugs are being advertised in a similar manner.
]]>Court proceedings...
"Your honor, my client had a tiny peni when he started taking the drug. I now enter into evidence exhibit A, my clients sworn affiadivit that he has shown no improvment after taking this product and does, in fact still have a tiny peni. And oh yeah, he now swears before the court that he is a complete idiot and believed there to be a magic pill to make him larger than life."
After reading the above, do you see why there may not be as many complaints as you would think against enzyte?
]]>@NotATool: Don't forget, there was no "buy-in." For a while they were offering a totally free one month supply, a "nothing to lose" type offer. That's how they got most of the people.
]]>I used to make fun of those commercials, joking that his wife was still banging the mailman, even with Bob's Enzyte usage.
]]>Anyone who fell for those commercials is a fool. I just can't believe people are dumb enough to fall for this stuff. And its all over the tv...ad after ad. It sickens me.
]]>Sheesh. Anyone who was naïve enough to buy into this scam got what they deserved.
]]>He better hope that his cellmate isn't the one person who tried the pill and got actual results. oooooo is he gonna be sore.
]]>@royal72: I suppose you're the type that thinks old people that get swindled in to buying shit over the phone are at fault as well.
These pills were not advertised in the back of Maxim - they were ALL over TV (and actually still are). They had high production values and aired during primetime, which gave the product a certain credibility. Nothing I ever would have bought, but when I saw it I used to think "Huh, looks like they actually made something that works."
Also, saying that it's OK for a company to maliciously rip people off, in any circumstance, always makes you look like a douche. Remember that.
]]>The thing is, this isn't one of those sketchy ads in the back of a magazine. It's a well-advertised drug with high-quality (albeit annoying) commercials. I could see if it was being advertised like you purport, but it's being marketed as a legitimate drug.
]]>American Public "stiffed" again......who wudda thunk it?
Mac
This actually does surprise me, but only because the tone of the commercials made it sound like the viewer was expected to consult a doctor before trying the product. I know they put a phone number up to get free samples, but it still didn't have the tone of a "call now and we'll include extra ions for free!" thing. Maybe that was just me??...
]]>And I would have no problem getting a notarized statement that I have a small penis if it means getting money back. I mean, if I had a small penis. Which I don't. Really.
]]>