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Diet pill fraud nets 20-year below-guideline federal sentence (and ads for diet pills)

By Douglas A. Berman

This federal sentencing story out of Florida, which is headlined "Diet pill creator sentenced to 20 years for Lipoban?s fraudulent claims: Boca Raton man bilked more than 130,000 customers, feds say," caught my eye for various reasons. Here are the interesting details: Lipoban was advertised as a miracle drug that absorbed fat, allowing people to shed weight without changing their diets. The claim was a lie, but the pills did absorb something ? money from people's wallets. The Boca Raton man behind the ads spent the better part of three decades making similar weight-loss claims, raking in enough money to buy a posh Virgin Islands hideaway. Frank Sarcona's years of amazing diet promises came to an end Friday as he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for bilking more than 130,000 Lipoban customers out of at least $10 million...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 27, 2010 (boomark / email).