No idea what this means for the part time sponsorhip of the #27 in 2003 [as the team already has a new full sponsorship package with Kleenex in 2004], but the owner TrimSpa, who has sponsored the #27 Brewco Pontiac at various races in 2003, seems to be having some legal problems:
The founder of a weight-loss company based in Cedar Knolls, NJ has been sued by the state attorney general’s office for allegedly pushing ephedra-based supplements on consumers who signed up for seminars. The lawsuit filed Thursday against Alex Szynalski, founder of Goen Seminars Institute Inc., said the company used a bait-and-switch advertising scheme that claimed hypnosis could help people lose weight or stop smoking without gaining weight. Consumers who signed up were instead bombarded pitches for the ephedra-based supplement TrimSpa and another called Lipo Spa touted as “liposuction in a bottle,” Attorney General Peter C. Harvey said. “The seminars were just a veiled attempt to sell Goen supplements,” Harvey said. “What’s even more troubling is that the defendants hawked these supplements without clearly warning consumers about the potentially life-threatening side effects of products containing ephedra, such as TrimSpa.” Jason Stephans, assistant general counsel at Goen, declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday because the company had not received a copy. Harvey said Goen’s warnings about ephedra, an herbal-based stimulant that has been associated with strokes, high blood pressure and heart attacks, were buried in the fine print of information given to clients. Szynalski and others also made deceptive claims about the effectiveness of the products, the lawsuit said. Those who attended Goen seminars were urged to buy one bottle of supplements for $44.95 or a 16-pack for $459.99, according to Harvey. The complaint filed in state Superior Court in Morris County said there is no scientific evidence to support Goen’s claims that TrimSpa metabolizes fat or regulates blood sugar. In addition, the state claims Goen often refused to make payments to those who sought refunds despite having offered a 110 percent money back guarantee.(wcbs880.com)(10-17-2003)
