FTC sends warning letter to Manatee County nutrition firm
April 24, 2020 - The Federal Trade Commission has sent warning letters to 10 multi-level marketing companies, including It Works Marketing Inc. in Palmetto, regarding health and earnings claims the 10 companies or their participants are making related to coronavirus. The letters tell the companies to immediately stop their distributors from telling people that they’re likely to get rich by investing in the business, the FTC said. In an April 24 warning letter to It Works!, the FTC said it reviewed Facebook posts by the company, its business opportunity participants and representatives, and found they "unlawfully mispresent" that consumers who become It Works! business opportunity participants are likely to earn substantial income. The FTC told the company to review all claims related to the business opportunity and cease making claims that are not supported by evidence or substantiation. The FTC letter came one day after It Works!, which sells nutrition and beauty products, issued a press release, saying it decided not to close on a $2.7 million loan that had been approved under the Paycheck Protection Program. The company said it had "stable and growing" sales in April and "decided to give the small businesses that are in greater need the opportunity to receive these funds."