Sellers of Herbal Substance Agree to Injunction, $40,000 in Penalties

Sellers of Herbal Substance Agree
to Injunction, $40,000 in Penalties

March 25, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Joe Scott, Director of Communications
Sandi Gibbons, Public Information Officer
Jane Robison, News Secretary
(213) 974-3525

LOS ANGELES – A San Gabriel Valley business owner and his wife entered a stipulated judgment in a civil lawsuit today for allegedly making bogus medical claims about an herbal substance.

Deputy District Attorney Leslie Hanke of Consumer Protection Division said Michael Ng and Susan Lo entered the judgment with no admission of wrongdoing or liability.

The civil complaint, filed earlier this month, alleged violation of Business and Professions Code section 17500, which prohibits the making of untrue or misleading representations as an inducement to sell products, and section 17200, which prohibits unlawful business practices.

For roughly eight years, Ng and Lo allegedly imported an herbal substance called “tien hsien” from Hong Kong and manufactured, packaged and distributed the product from an El Monte-based location. To market and sell the product, the couple made claims that the herbal substance boosted the immune system and decelerated the growth of cancer cells.

“When people have been diagnosed with a serious or terminal illness they panic and start looking for miracle cures,” Hanke said. “Sometimes people will forgo conventional medical treatment – which may prolong their lives – hoping for a cure from some herbal substance or supplement that’s never been tested.”

The Food and Drug Administration and the California Department of Public Health’s, Food and Drug Branch, determined that “tien hsien” has not been approved as a new drug.

As part of the stipulated judgment, Ng and Lo agreed to a permanent injunction prohibiting them from making false or misleading statements about the curative properties of the product. In addition, the two were ordered to pay $40,000 in civil penalties and investigation costs.

The case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office by the California Department of Public Health’s, Food and Drug Branch.

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Editors: Sanford Perliss, the attorney for Ng, may be reached at (626) 300-8688. Montie Reynolds, the attorney for Lo, may be reached at (909) 584-8200. The California Department of Public Health’s, Food and Drug Branch may be reached at (916) 440-7259.

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