mlm policy: a closer look at possible deceptive nu skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · mlm policy: a...

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1 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions. MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ and six other U.S. government agencies announced sweeping criminal and civil actions against dietary supplement manufacturers for violations including deceptive marketing. The announcement came two days after our November 16 th article, which examined Nu Skin’s sales practices and possible UDAP violations as well as the specific UDAP criteria that regulators examine, such as a reasonableness test to determine whether the representation of the sale is likely to mislead “reasonable consumers”. With many stakeholders wondering if there are specific examples in which Nu Skin distributors ask for “donations” of VitaMeal despite this being against company policy because Nu Skin is not a charity and the transaction is a for-profit sale The Capitol Forum recently conducted a quick internet search to identify screen shots of Millions of Meals websites run by Nu Skin that promote the donation of VitaMeal, as well as screenshots of other distributor websites. This Internet search revealed at least twenty five examples of distributor sites that promote the donation of VitaMeal and that also may highlight other possible violations of Nu Skin’s own policies and federal/state UDAP laws. Given how central the donation theme is to the sale of VitaMeal and how widespread the potential violations appear to be, our sources agree that websites run by Nu Skin and their independent distributors are deceptive in the way they represent the sale of VitaMeal. Millions of Meals Screenshots November 23, 2015

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Page 1: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

1 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites

VitaMeal Update

Last week, DOJ and six other U.S. government agencies announced sweeping criminal and civil actions against

dietary supplement manufacturers for violations including deceptive marketing. The announcement came two days

after our November 16th article, which examined Nu Skin’s sales practices and possible UDAP violations as well

as the specific UDAP criteria that regulators examine, such as a reasonableness test to determine whether the

representation of the sale is likely to mislead “reasonable consumers”.

With many stakeholders wondering if there are specific examples in which Nu Skin distributors ask for “donations”

of VitaMeal – despite this being against company policy because Nu Skin is not a charity and the transaction is a

for-profit sale – The Capitol Forum recently conducted a quick internet search to identify screen shots of Millions

of Meals websites run by Nu Skin that promote the donation of VitaMeal, as well as screenshots of other distributor

websites.

This Internet search revealed at least twenty five examples of distributor sites that promote the donation of VitaMeal

and that also may highlight other possible violations of Nu Skin’s own policies and federal/state UDAP laws. Given

how central the donation theme is to the sale of VitaMeal and how widespread the potential violations appear to be,

our sources agree that websites run by Nu Skin and their independent distributors are deceptive in the way they

represent the sale of VitaMeal.

Millions of Meals Screenshots

November 23, 2015

Page 2: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

2 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 3: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

3 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 4: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

4 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Distributor’s Screen Shots

Page 5: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

5 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 6: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

6 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 7: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

7 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 8: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

8 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 9: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

9 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 10: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

10 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 11: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

11 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 12: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

12 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 13: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

13 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 14: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

14 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 15: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

15 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 16: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

16 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 17: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

17 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 18: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

18 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 19: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

19 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 20: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

20 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 21: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

21 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.

Page 22: MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin ...€¦ · 23/11/2015  · MLM Policy: A Closer Look at Possible Deceptive Nu Skin Websites VitaMeal Update Last week, DOJ

22 You are a subscriber to The Capitol Forum. Please contact 202-601-2300 for editorial or sales questions.