Most mail-order health schemes attempt to exploit people’s fear of being unattractive. Their promoters are usually“hit-and-run” artists who hope to make a profit before the government stops their false ads. Common products include “miracle” weight-loss plans, fitness and bodybuilding products, “spot-reducing” devices (claimed to reduce specific parts of the body), antiaging products, and alleged sex aids. For many years, the Postal Service had an active program to detect and stop such schemes, but the program was abandoned in the early 1990s. The Postal Service maintains a searchable archive of administrative law decisions. This site will gradually archive the decisions on health-related mail-order products, most of which were issued between 1957 and 1996. To find more, search the USPS archive of administrative law decisions for terms such as “diet,” “health,” “vitamin,” or “nutrition”
Bogus Educational Opportunities
Mail-Order Health Products
- American Diet Association / Nutritional Research / Vita-Health Research / Sandra Brooks (1986)
- Bodyscience (1982)
- Robert A. Calistri, George L. Carapella, Raymond J. Carapella (1990): DIETOL-7,M BODI-TRIM, BELDOXINOL
- Health Care Products, Inc d/b/a Anderson Pharmacal / Barbara W. Larkins / Carl Anderson / Ronald Anderson (5/88, 3/89, 6/90)
- Great Life Laboratories (1981)
- Nancy Pryor / Millburn Products / Millburn Book Corp / Frank J. Sarcone (1980)
- Oncor / Taylor-Wright Pharmacals (1991, 1993)
- Puritan’s Price / Nature’s Bounty (1993)
- Robertson-Taylor Company (1983)
- Wholesale Nutrition Club / Oscar Falconi (3/84, 4/84)
- WorldLife Company / Ruby Juergens (1996)
Denial of Permit to Mail at Periodicals Rate
This page was revised on June 11, 2019
