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New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced that his office obtained a restraining order against a Long Island man who operated several Internet scams that bilked consumers out of thousands of dollars.

Jeffrey A. Augugliaro of Malverne in Nassau County, was served with a lawsuit alleging that he and his associates set up an Internet-based business known as “People Helping People” which solicited donations for a phony charitable organization Augugliaro created called “American Cancer Aid Foundation.” Donors were told that contributions to the organization would be used for cancer prevention research and that contributors would receive two free airline tickets, worth up to $1,600, that could be used to fly anywhere in the world.

The lawsuit charges that none of the money solicited was ever used for cancer research, but instead was pocketed by Augugliaro and his associates. Furthermore, there were no free airline tickets, and consumers received nothing for their donations.

Similar offers of free airline tickets were promoted on other websites operated by Augugliaro, www.massmarketingprogram.com and www.jamvo.com, both of which allegedly marketed the tickets to business owners as a way to attract new customers. The lawsuit claims that thousands of consumers were defrauded by these scams, including a cancer patient who hoped to use the free airline tickets to fly to a hospital for her cancer treatments.

In addition to the charity scam, Augugliaro created Brixdale, an Internet-based company, www.brixdale.com., that promoted a so-called “inverse mortgage” program. Consumers were promised that by allowing Brixdale to take control of the electronic transfers of their monthly mortgage payments, consumers could not only pay off an entire 30-year mortgage in full, but could also easily make a quarter of a million dollars, all in a matter of months. The lawsuit alleges that Brixdale is simply an illegal pyramid scheme, which survives by participants recruiting more and more participants, and that the promised economic benefits are never realized.

Pending a hearing on the lawsuit, the court barred Augugliaro and the other defendants from operating their businesses, ordered them to shut down their websites and froze approximately one million dollars in bank accounts held by the defendants. Through the lawsuit, Spitzer seeks to permanently shut down the businesses and websites, and require respondents to pay restitution to consumers, as well as penalties and costs.

Spitzer cautions consumers against signing up for offers on the Internet that seem too good to be true, or getting involved in schemes promising that the consumer can “get rich quick” in exchange for recruiting others to join the scheme.

Individuals seeking to file a complaint against any of Augugliaro’s companies are encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s consumer help line at (800) 771-7755 or visit his web site at www.oag.state.ny.us.

Posted under Health

Under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) “Consumer Health for Better Nutrition Initiative,” the Agency is announcing the results of a review of qualified health claims that green tea may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. Based on a systematic evaluation of the available scientific data, the FDA intends to consider exercising its enforcement discretion for the following qualified health claims for breast and prostate cancer:

“Two studies do not show that drinking green tea reduces the risk of breast cancer in women, but one weaker, more limited study suggests that drinking green tea may reduce this risk. Based on these studies, FDA concludes that it is highly unlikely that green tea reduces the risk of breast cancer”; and

“One weak and limited study does not show that drinking green tea reduces the risk of prostate cancer, but another weak and limited study suggests that drinking green tea may reduce this risk. Based on these studies, FDA concludes that it is highly unlikely that green tea reduces the risk of prostate cancer.”

The FDA also concluded that existing evidence does not support qualified health claims for green tea consumption and a reduced risk of any other type of cancer.

Guidance on qualified health claims for conventional foods and dietary supplements was issued by the FDA in July 2003. FDA will continue to evaluate new information that becomes available to determine whether changes in these claims, or in the decision, are necessary.

Posted under Health