FTC Shoots the Messenger, Chase Revel!

Suppose that you

  1. Wrote some advertising copy for a client/company:
  2. You did not own any part of the company;
  3. You were not an officer or employee of the company;
  4. The client signed a contract with you containing the following clause:

“Chase Revel will prepare an advertising piece based on material supplied by the Client. Client acknowledges that Chase Revel is not an authority on the product nor an attorney, biochemist or doctor. The Client further acknowledges that it is the Client's responsibility to review said advertising for accuracy and compliance with the law before publishing said advertising.”

A safe position, right? Wrong!

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Chase Revel for a ridiculous $94 million for fraudulent misrepresentation—and they had a copy of the contract with the clause shown above!

In most countries in Europe, frivolous law suits like this against NON-RESPONSIBLE PARTIES are not allowed—not even by governments. But our government is different. They can do anything they want to do.

And, not one word of the copy was untrue!

Chase Revel wrote a very factual ad piece as you will see because it is attached to the end of this discourse. It was scanned directly in from the printed ad piece—nothing has been changed. Chase Revel didn't hedge, exaggerate, lie or misrepresent any fact. Every fact in the ad is thoroughly documented by the research material from the government, prominent doctors and some of the largest universities in the world.

Because the FTC COULD NOT SAY That Chase Revel LIED, they resorted to saying the ad was fraudulent because it IMPLIED: “GH3 (the product) reverses and prevents age-related memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer's disease and people will live 29% longer.” (None of these claims were made in the ad.)

In the ad, Chase Revel said clinical tests have shown that people who have those conditions have certain nutrient deficiencies, and the product contains those nutrients. Read the piece and you be the judge. Is it fraudulent?

(SCROLL TO THE END OF THIS TO SEE IT.)

In other words, the FTC says you CAN'T present facts to people and let them make their own decision!

So, just who is the Federal Trade Commission protecting? It certainly is NOT protecting consumers because they don't want them to know the facts. So, they must be protecting the drug companies.

Why Did The FTC Target This Company and Chase Revel?

Chase Revel's client grew too big and that apparently bothered the drug companies because his client sold ailment-targeted herbal and nutrient compounds—in direct competition with their drugs. The drug companies have a very worrisome problem. Statistics indicate that over 60% of adult Americans take nutritional supplements for their health and ailments, and the number of people grows every year. So, behind closed doors, the drug barons probably used their political clout and demanded that the FTC eliminate a competitor—the client and one very annoying writer, Chase Revel.

Each one of the major drug companie's net profit is over $5 BILLION per year. If they gave $1 million every year to each senator and congress person, they would hardly notice a dent on their bottom line. With that kind of clout, they can get the government to do anything they want, and THEY DO.

They Probably Went After Chase Revel Because He Exposed Drug Company Fraud!

Chase Revel wrote a couple of chapters in his recent book that exposed a few of the many unethical activities of the drug companies, such as their secret payments to doctors, under the table, to prescribe certain drugs—probably to people who didn't really need the drugs. Why is it that we never see the FTC taking the drug companies to court for this kind of fraud even though it is rampant and well-documented?

Also, Revel provided extensive documentation that many of the popular drugs are dangerous, don't cure anything or don't work as well as certain nutrient and herbal combinations. He made a point of disclosing that out of over 100,000 registered drugs, only a couple dozen cure anything—and most of those are antibiotics! Most drugs just make you more comfortable while your body cures itself. The book, entitled, Amazing Medicines The Drug Companies Don't Want You To Discover!, sold over a million copies, and obviously didn't make the drug companies very happy.

A Million Dollars In Legal Fees!

The FTC put 14 attorneys on the case (we are not joking—14). And in four years, the FTC probably spent $10 million or more on this case. The FTC doesn't care what something costs because it's not their money—it is your  tax money they are spending.

The legal fees reached almost $1 million, and Chase Revel had not gone to trial yet. Then, the desperate FTC was caught doing some blatantly illegal discovery and got in trouble with the judge; so they decided to settle. Rather than spending another $200,000 going to trial, Chase Revel agreed that IF he wrote any ads for any human nutritional product in the future, he would put up a million dollar bond.

FTC's Clever Writers Make Chase Revel Look Like A Crook!

Chase Revel thought that finally this travesty of justice is over, but no. To add insult to the million dollar injury, the FTC put out a press release that makes him look like the biggest crook of the century. Read it. It's usually at the top of the first page when you google Chase Revel.

Revel's attorney says that press releases are the FTC's score card. That's their justification for their huge budget and wasteful activities. The FTC don't care how they make a score, or who gets hurt. So, beware poor little ad writers and commercial messengers. They could shoot you, too.

What if Chase Revel didn't have the $1 million for legal fees? They would have gotten a judgment for $94 Million that would have ruined his credit and hung around his neck for the rest of his life. What an evil, sick government!

Did Consumers Get Hurt?

The Federal Trade Commission was organized originally to protect consumers from false advertising. Well, that certainly was not  the case here. The FTC claimed in their suit that consumers were damaged, and they were seeking redress on their behalf. However, when Chase Revel's attorneys ask for proof of those damages, the FTC couldn't provide any proof!

In over 11 years, the Client sold close to $1 BILLION worth of nutritional products. The client had several million customers, most of which were repeat buyers—and many bought more than one product—regularly.

Obviously, the products were making people happy because they kept on buying. And they are still buying the products. The company is 18 years old and still going strong. Chase Revel uses 3 of the products—even to this day. Were there any consumer complaints against the company? Yes, but no more than average for a company selling to millions of people through the mail—probably around 1%, To the best of Revel's knowledge, all were corrected.

This case wasn't about consumer redress. It was a vendetta, as you have seen. And to make themselves look like heroes, the FTC insisted in the settlement negotiation that Chase Revel contribute a measly $27,500 as "consumer redress." Did the consumers ever get any of that "redress?" No, and what about the $10 million plus the FTC wasted of consumer taxes protecting the drug companies with this BOGUS lawsuit?

(Scroll down to see a copy of the ad in question.)