The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on April 16, 2008 that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld a district court ruling requiring marketers of Seasilver, an alleged phony cure-all, to pay almost $120 million for failing to comply with an earlier order requiring them to pay $3 million in consumer redress.

According to the FTC, the defendants claimed that the dietary supplement “Seasilver” was clinically proven to treat or cure 650 diseases, including cancer and AIDS, and cause rapid, substantial, and permanent weight loss without dieting. The agency alleged that the claims were false and unsubstantiated. The Commission’s initial action against the defendants was part of “Operation Cure.All,” a comprehensive law enforcement and consumer education campaign to combat health-related fraud on the Internet. Law enforcement actions were coordinated among the FTC, the Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada, Canada’s Competition Bureau, and state Attorneys General against unscrupulous marketers who prey upon seriously ill consumers.