There are no commercials on TV I hate more than those "This is Bob" commercials for Enzyte and "natural male enhancement." Seems the government doesn't like them much either. The company that makes it has been slapped with a fraud indictment:
In one example, Wednesday's indictment cited ads placed in Penthouse and other male-oriented magazines that claimed Enzyte was developed after years of study by two doctors, one at Harvard and the other at Stanford.
"The company president and others made up information in their advertisements, such as endorsements by doctors that did not exist, and results of customer satisfaction surveys that had never been conducted," U.S. Attorney Greg Lockhart said.
Customers with complaints were told to write to a director of customer care who did not exist, the indictment alleges.
Not exactly a shock.
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Steve Warshak of Berkeley Premium Pharmaceuticals, maker of Enzyte and many other bogus products, was indicted on 106 counts. The company did $250 million in sales in 2004; the government says consumers have been defrauded of more than $100 million including by billing customer for shipments they did not request (after their initial free trial).
Warshak's company had a fictional "director of customer care" named Michael Johnson. Warshak's mother Harriet, an employee of the company, is also named in the indictment.
These guys were raided back on March 16, 2005, and have continued to operate and rake in bucks with their scam products.
Lots more info in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Everyone knows this is just government protecting big pharma again. I've seen the difference their products have made in Bob's life: What further proof is necessary?
What I wonder is how can a guy like Bob be gettin' some when I'm not? Something is fundamentally wrong with the universe. :D
So, the gist of it is, these guys are in trouble for, well, stiffing their customers?
(many apologies, but things like this I simply cannot resist....)
Those Enzyte commercials are the equivalent of the old Dr. Eugene Scott evangelism programs -- "If you're dumb enough to watch this, send us money." One has to give a hat-tip to Warshak's audacity, if nothing else.
What gets me is that inventing fake doctors and fake studies in their advertisements gets them in trouble.
But selling fake medicine that is supposed to make your dick grow larger? For some reason that's not illegal.
I'm just tired of all my friends chuckling at me when that commercial comes on (because my name is Bob... not because of my... well...)
Stupid commercial.
"There are no commercials on TV I hate more than those 'This is Bob' commercials for Enzyte and 'natural male enhancement.'"
Head ON. Apply directly to the forehead.
Head ON. Apply directly to the forehead.
Some commercials are more annoying than others.
And speaking of the devil, I just saw a new Enzyte Bob commercial.
Hi - I am covering this story in my blog (http://menznews.blogspot.com), and I include links to the actual FTC "complaints", for those who are interested.
As for the comment above, that Berkeley is being persecuted to protect the pharmaceutical industry...this is not likely because of several reasons:
1. Berkeley is stealing millions of dollars from people's credit cards. Are you suggesting that the government should ignore this?
2. Enzyte is a fake product, so it does not compete against any pharmaceutical product (such as Viagra).
It's not like Berkeley is an underdog, being crushed by the evil pharmaceutical industry. They are fake pill pushers who take advantage of men's hopes for better health by selling them unproven herbs, then billing them without their permission for a second batch.