Acai Berry Diet Scam Continues with the Help of the Black Eyed Peas

For those of you who are fans of the hip, hop group, The Black Eyed Peas, you have to wonder if the latest five-minute online sales pitch for Acai Berry/Colon Cleanse weight loss scam has the endorsement of the hip, hop group. Throughout the sales pitch, you can hear the song, "I Gotta Feeling," in its entirety, while you're subjected to a lengthy series of unsubstantiated claims (http://www.consumershealthreports.com/acai/index.php?). Before you even watch the video, the following claims are made: "controls blood sugar, regulates cholesterol level, prevents cancer, prevents and destroys infectious diseases." All this from a combination of acai berry and colon cleanse supplements designed originally to help you lose weight? Even the most eager prospect for weight loss considering these two products has got to wonder how they could "prevent cancer."

In addition to "the Acai berry diet," to quote directly from their own sales ad, "preventing cancer" and "destroying infectious diseases," it can also "boost energy levels," make you "sleep better," and help you to "wake up more rested." To the scammers trying to induce consumers into trying the Acai berry diet, it apparently doesn't matter that there isn't one shred of supporting documentation to prove that their nutritional supplements "prevent cancer" or "destroy infectious diseases." All you have to do is parse words and make sure the claim is vague enough that you can't be held accountable. Imagine trying to prove or disprove that the Acai berry diet can prevent cancer. I mean, if you don't get cancer, the supplements must have worked, right? Also, can anyone explain how you "destroy an infectious disease?" Notice that there wasn't an infectious disease mentioned by name. Aspirin could probably be credited with destroying an infectious disease as well, but just like the Acai berry diet, it might be difficult to prove.

Two years ago, I wrote on this subject when the sellers of this diet plan were using Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray as endorsers. On August 20, 2009, it was reported by ABC News that Oprah and a guest on her show, Dr. Mehmet Oz, filed suit against sellers of Acai Berry products over the unauthorized use of their names in attempting to sell the Acai berry diet (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=8369105). You can find other venders of the Acai berry diet still trying to sell it without Rachael Ray's authorization. Under the guise of having been written by a magazine or e-zine called Consumer Report and even claiming that a reporter named "Julia" at "11News" is investigating "The Rachael Ray Diet," these ripoff artists are trying to claim media and pop culture support for an obvious credit card scam (http://www.11healthnews.com/index_May2010.html). You might check out the following websites, http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2009/03/oprah-acai-berry-scam-hoax-rachael-ray-dr-oz-brad-pitt-angelina-jolie/ and http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/club/board/thread/49848/, the latter website coming directly from Rachael Ray's website, pointing out the insidious nature of this scam. At the Rachael Ray website, a number of people discussing the attempted use of the diet plan through the "free trial," reported either not receiving the entire product, or not being able to stop the charges to their credit card in addition to having trouble getting their money back when cancelling the "free trial."

So now it appears that these scam artists have likely used music without approval from the Black Eyed Peas to peddle their useless diet supplements. While listening to the tune, "I Gotta Feeling," probably to keep prospects for the product from getting bored, viewers tuning in to the latest Acai berry diet scam are treated to a sob story. A sob story designed to make the viewer feel as though the seller of this junk has been where you've been. They've tried every diet plan out there and nothing has worked until they miraculously stumbled across the Acai berry diet. Apparently, in an attempt to give themselves more credibility, the seller is claiming to be a "health research reporter." The "research" this "reporter" supposedly did isn't cited anywhere. And in the present ad using the Black Eyed Peas tune, our researcher looks like he/she could use some spelling lessons: "But then I relisted [sic] that I had nothing to loose [sic] (except some pounds)." And then, all we have to do according to our health research reporter is "follow some simple rules and see that it's working." And then there's the stunning revelation that our reporter "lost 27 pounds in 4 weeks and kept it off for 7 months." It's interesting to note that we're now told that in order to have these miraculous results we just have to "follow one rule." This, after being told to follow "some simple rules." Looks like the research reporter could use a few lessons in grammar as well.

Not that it's all that important to harp on now, but it's interesting that our health research reporter, who remains nameless, can't spell "realized," or "lose," earlier in the ad, but can now spell "phytosterol," a technical word used in describing the "cholesterol-lowering" properties of the Acai Berry. The scientific treatise on the acai berry, offered during the come-on for this diet plan is lengthy and boring, and needs the help of the Black Eyed Peas music to help curb any spontaneous yawning. About the time you think the Acai berry diet plan has ceased making ridiculous promises, it adds one more to the mix: the promise of "looking younger." According to our hucksters, "acai can slow down the impact of ageing [sic] (wrinkles, age lines, age spots, health of the hair)...as if they had finally found the magic elixir of life." Good grief, in addition to losing all this wonderful weight, we're being promised the fountain of youth as well.

So what do the crooks who are trying to sell the Acai berry diet plan want this time? The usual. Your credit card number, to be exact. You'll start out by paying $3.95 shipping and handling on both Acai Optimum, the name of choice for the acai berry product in this ad, and another $3.95 shipping and handling for Advance Cleanse, the colon cleanse product needed to allegedly help this diet plan work. Of course the ad states "using both products is highly recommended for best results." And just what kind of "results" are we buying?

Acai Optimum starts you out with a "14-day trial period," and if you haven't called to cancel your trial, your credit card is charged $79.98. But the fun doesn't stop there. Every 30 days, you'll continue your enrollment in the Acai Optimum Fit Club at a cost of $49 per month. Of course, you can always choose to take advantage of the "Diamond Offer" in which you don't get a free trial, but instead you get three bottles of this wonderful diet product for $99.95, and then every sixty days thereafter, have your credit card charged for $99.95 for two more bottles on a recurring basis until you take action to cancel your "enrollment." Good luck finding the customer service number, which is buried in the fine print under the Terms and Conditions link of the ad.

Oh, but let's not forget about ordering Advance Cleanse. Within the same 14-day trial period, if you haven't cancelled your free trial, you're charged $79.98. But not to worry. You're only charged the "low price" of $49 for each month's supply after that. And let's not forget the free shipping! Advance Cleanse also has a "Diamond Offer" strikingly similar to that of Acai Optimum, should you opt to forgo the free trial route. So this amazing Acai berry diet which combines Acai Optimum with Advance Cleanse is going to set you back $159.96 within 14 days of trying it out. All of these promises of preventing cancer, lowering cholesterol, and getting rid of age spots are going to be a little difficult to evaluate within 14 days, don't you think? Given that the real costs for both diet supplements are buried under the Terms and Conditions link, it's probably a safe bet that the expenses incurred for this miracle diet plan weren't intended to be disclosed until you received your credit card statement in the mail. The $3.95 free trial shipping and handling price is just a ruse to get you to part with your credit card number so you can give the thieves selling this bogus diet plan carte blanche. They wouldn't care if the shipping and handling charge was just .50 as long as they can charge whatever they want 14 days later, force you to dispute the charges knowing that that takes time, and then disappear, forcing you to deal with some customer service department that is probably nonexistent by the time you catch up with your credit card statement.

Just ask yourself a few questions in closing: "Do any of the claims about reversing the aging process make any sense?" "Where is the research proving that the weight loss results claimed are attainable?" And my favorite one is, "What is the name of the company selling these products?" It was hard to find, but in the fine print at the bottom was the name, Nutrition Craze Group, based out of Panama City, Panama! Even more amusing was when I clicked on the ad to see how much the "free trial" was going to cost and then backed out, I was given a "counter-offer" of "just .99 (ninety-nine cents)" for the shipping charges. Which just underscores the point that the credit card number is all they're after in trying to sell this product, and not in trying to help anyone lose weight or discover the fountain of youth.