Showing posts with label kimkins fraud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kimkins fraud. Show all posts

The Worst Diet Promotions Of 2008



The Slim Chance Awards have been announced, awarding the worst diet promotions of 2008. The Slim Chance Awards are a part of the upcoming Healthy Weight Week which encourages people to live actively, eat nutritionally and normally, and to respect and feel good about themselves and others. "It’s a time to celebrate the diversity of real women, as well as men, and to help them shift focus from failed and risky weight loss efforts to being healthy at their natural sizes. Healthy Weight Week is a time for people to move ahead with a new approach and build confident, diet-free lives for themselves and those they love.
"The 20th Annual Slim Chance Awards are announced at year's end as a lead up to Rid the World of Fad Diets & Gimmicks Day, Jan 20, 2009, Tuesday of Healthy Weight Week (the third full week in January). They expose the widespread fraud and quackery in the weight loss field, and are aimed at helping consumers move on from chronic dieting to improving their lives in more positive and lasting ways.

They are truly the “worst” of the worst of the many weight-loss products and programs that flood the internet, the airwaves, and the pages of print materials in seemingly increasing numbers. Diet quackery defrauds, disables and kills."


And Here They Are:

MOST OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: Kevin Trudeau infomercials.
It’s rare that regulatory agencies look at books, given our free speech laws, but the infomercials for Kevin Trudeau’s weight loss book and his repeated violations were just too much for the Federal Trade Commission, and this past August he was fined over $5 million and banned from infomercials for three years. In “willful efforts” to deceive, Trudeau told listeners they could easily follow the diet protocol at home, even though his book calls for human growth hormone injections and colonics that must be done by a licensed practitioner. The tortured case began in 1998 when FTC charged Trudeau with false and misleading diet infomercials. In 2003 he was charged with false claims; in 2004 he was fined $2 million and banned from infomercials. Again in 2007 a contempt action said he misled thousands with false claims for his weight loss book “in flagrant violation” of court orders.

WORST GIMMICK: Skineez jeans ($139). A new item in the fight against cellulite, Skineez jeans are impregnated with a so-called “medication” of retinol and chitosan, a shellfish product once claimed to cut fat absorption in the stomach (see 1999 Slim Chance Awards). Friction between the jeans and skin supposedly triggers release of the substance, which goes to work on fat when absorbed through the skin. Reportedly a big hit in Europe, the “smart fabric” is also used in lingerie. Ironically, the creators of Skineez, Clothes for a Cause, profess to raise funds for breast cancer and “a wide range of other socially conscious charities.” So while the company hoodwinks women into buying an expensive pair of jeans, it promises they can “do good with every purchase … As our sales grow, so will our ability to help others.” FTC, however, is clear about such gimmicks, emphasizing that products worn or rubbed on the skin do not cause weight loss or fat loss.

WORST CLAIM: AbGONE. Throughout 2008 full page ads assaulted the eye in daily newspapers across the country touting AbGONE as “proven to promote pot belly loss.” Claims are that AbGONE increases “fat metabolism” and calorie burn, promotes appetite suppression and inhibits future abdominal fat deposits. These are drug claims that, if true, would alter the body’s regulation, but unlike drugs, the pills are sold as food supplements not requiring FDA approval. The bold ads feature the obligatory before and after shots of models, cut-away sketches of the abdomen with and without belly fat, and a white-coated researcher with chart purportedly confirming success of 5 times reduction in fat mass, 4 times lower BMI, 4 times greater weight loss than placebo. No added diet and exercise needed – well, except, you may want to heed the fine print disclaimer at the bottom that reminds us “diet and exercise are essential.”

WORST PRODUCT: Kimkins diet. It must have seemed an easy way to get rich quick. Founder Heidi “Kimmer” Diaz set up a website and charged members a fee to access the Kimkins diet, boasting they could lose up to 5 percent of their body weight in 10 days. “Better than gastric bypass,” there was “no faster diet,” and in fact she herself had lost 198# in 11 months. Stunning “after” photos were displayed. In June 2007 Women's World ran it as a cover story, and that month alone PayPal records show the Kimkins site took in over $1.2 million. Then users began complaining of chest pains, hair loss, heart palpitations, irritability and menstrual irregularities. This was not surprising since Kimkins is essentially a starvation diet, down to 500 calories per day and deficient in many nutrients (appallingly, laxatives are advised to replace missing fiber). In a lawsuit, 11 former members are uncovering a vast record of Diez’s alleged fraud. They found that the stunning “after” photos, including one of Kimmer herself, had been lifted from a Russian mail order bride site. According to a deposition reported by Los Angeles TV station KTLA, Diaz admitted using fake pictures, fake stories and fake IDs, and a judge has allowed the litigants to freeze some of her assets.

Want to see past awards? 20 years worth of Slim Chance Awards

Related posts:

Falling For A Diet Scam

Kimkins: An Internet Diet Scam

Kimkins: San Diego Victims Sought

sources:http://www.healthyweight.net/fraud.htm#hww

Kimkins: San Diego County Victims Sought


If you were a victim of Heidi Diaz's Kimkins Diet Scam and you reside in San Diego County, or know someone who does, your help is needed.

Calling San Diego County…
by kimkinslawsuit

"If you were a victim of the Kimkins scam and you live in San Diego County, you can make a major impact in stopping Heidi Diaz’s Kimkins scam. Please contact me at kimkinslawsuit@yahoo.com or contact John Tiedt at jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com for more information."

"If you are a former or current Kimkins member, you can still help by spreading the word to any San Diego County resident who joined Kimkins."

For More Information on Kimkins Diet Scam:
Kimkins: An Internet Diet Scam
Kimkins: Anatomy of a Diet Scam
The Kimkins Controversy
Kimkins Lawsuit
Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit
Russian Brides: Fake Kimkins Success Stories
Law Offices of Tiedt and Hurd
Google: Kimkins Scam
View the latest report: Insider Exclusive with Steve Murphy.
For a transcript of the report: Grilled Cheese Sandwich With Pickles


Sources: http://kimkinslawsuit.wordpress.com/
pictures:
http://www.slamboard.com
http://2medusa.blogspot.com/

Kimkins: An Internet Diet Scam


Americans spend an estimated 35 billion on diet products each year. But, buyer beware. Falling for a diet scam can end up doing more than just lighten your wallet, it can damage your health, and your emotional wellbeing.


Kimkins, an internet diet scam of huge proportions, has once again received national news coverage. Heidi Diaz (who goes by the online alias of Kimmer) claimed to weigh 118 pounds, having lost nearly 200 pounds in less than a year and maintaining that loss for approximately 5 years. It was later discovered by Private Investigator Robert Charlton of Alliance Investigative Services that Heidi Diaz had not lost the weight but instead was a morbidly obese woman residing in California. Ex members and concerned citizens banning together discovered that she had littered her website with elaborate fabricated success stories that she had written herself, taking the before and after pictures (including the one representing her own after picture: a beautiful woman in a red dress, upper left corner of picture above) from online Russian Bride sites, furthering the fraud.

Having no medical, nutritional, or science background, Heidi Diaz doled out dangerous diet advice that promoted extremely low calories, laxative use, and anorexic eating behaviors and practices. Members who posted at Kimkins of their concerns with health issues, dared to questioned the validity of the success stories, or discussed these problems on other internet sites were swiftly stripped of their paid lifetime memberships without warning or reimbursement.

It is estimated that Heidi Diaz's scam netted her well over 2 million dollars. There is currently a lawsuit against her by prior members and her assets have been frozen. It is hoped that her site will soon be shut down due to the fraud, dangerous diet, and dieting advice.

View the report: Insider Exclusive with Steve Murphy.

For a transcript of the report: Grilled Cheese Sandwich With Pickles

For additional information:
Kimkins: Anatomy of a Diet Scam
The Kimkins Controversy
Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit
Russian Brides: Fake Kimkins Success Stories
Law Offices of Tiedt and Hurd
Google: Kimkins Scam

If you were or are a current member of kimkins you can join the lawsuit. To join, simply send your name, address, day and evening phone number, approximate join date and amount paid to Kimkins.com to kimkinslawsuit@yahoo.com.




Sources:
http://www.insiderexclusive.com/firm_cohen2.htm http://www.3fatchicks.com/Diets/Diet_Articles/Kimkins:_Anatomy_of_a_Diet_Scam/ http://kimkinsclassactionlawsuit.blogspot.com/ http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/populardietplans/a/kimkinsdiet_2.htm http://honeybeesblog.wordpress.com/russian-brides-fake-kimkins-success-stories/ http://tiedtlaw.com/attyBiog.jsp?x=412405&y=9668149&z=353031
http://www.allianceagent.com/
pictures: http://www.slamboard.com
http://2medusa.blogspot.com/
http://honeybeesblog.wordpress.com/russian-brides-fake-kimkins-success-stories/

Falling For A Diet Scam

It seems that everywhere you turn these days there's a new diet, magic pill, or miracle cure for those looking to lose weight. The Diet Industry is big business. Americans spend an estimated 35 billion on diet products each year. But, buyer beware. Falling for a diet scam can end up doing more than just lighten your wallet, it can damage your health, and your emotional wellbeing.

A Consumer Affairs entry by Christine, of Blaine Washington states in her complaint against Kimkins.com "I developed heart palpitations, hair loss and constipation after 2 weeks on this unsafe eating plan. I was encouraged to drop my calories below 500 per day! Luckily I stopped and saw my physician but so many hundreds even thousands of others were not as lucky..."

Rene, of Milwaukee Wisconsin also complains to Consumer Affairs about her experience with Kimkins.com. "I have had a few physical problems resulting from following this diet as laid out specifically by the founder, Kimmer (aka Heidi Diaz). I am suffering from severe and extreme hair loss. I also suffered some emotional consequences, specifically I ended up living an anorexic lifestyle, eating not more than 600 calories a day..all the while being supported, encouraged, and applauded by the kimkins organization. They gave medical and physiological reasons why this was okay to do, why it was to be supported and why I should continue."

Martha of Dearborn Heights, Michigan complains to Consumer Affairs about her purchase of BioSlim. "I ordered the diet pills over the phone they said that they were refundable if no weight loss. I also charged it to my American Express card and would like a refund because the product does not work. The reason I thought they might work is because a doctor recommended them in the commercial."

Educating yourself and researching a product is well worth the effort. Here are some signs that a weight-loss product may be fraudulent:
  • claims or implies a large and fast weight loss "fast," “easily," “effortlessly," “guaranteed," or “permanently.”
  • uses undocumented case studies, before-and-after photos, celebrity endorsements, or testimonials by satisfied customers.
  • refers to studies without giving complete references.
  • recommends a diet providing less than 1,000 calories a day.
  • prescribes vitamin and mineral supplements, often in excess of the RDA.
  • demands long-term contracts and/or advance payment.
  • recommends eliminating at least one of the major food groups from the diet.
  • states that certain combinations of food lead to weight gain.
  • doesn't recommend that consumers with health problems be under the guidance of a physician.
Another way to help avoid falling victim to a diet scam is to check for existing complaints filed by consumers against a diet, or diet product you are considering.

Search the name of the product/or company at the Better Business Bureau.
Check the weight-loss section or search by company/product name at Consumer Affairs.
Check the diet section of the Complaints Board.
Search the internet using terms such as "Name of product here" dangers (or cons, or complaints).

Remember, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

See also: The Diet / Eating Disorder Connection

Kimkins Lawsuit
Consumer complaints Kimkins: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/kimkins.html
Consumer complaint BioSlim: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/nutrition/bioslim.html
Signs of a diet scam: http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/avoiding_fads_and_frauds

picsource: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sodaniechea/7048568277/