Key Takeaways:
- BlackOxygen Organics, a supplement vendor with a registered agent in Sheridan.
- Recently closed due to a pending federal lawsuit and payment processing issues.
According to The Sheridan Press, BlackOxygen Organics has been accused of fraudulent business practices and now has an “F” rank with BBB of Northern Colorado and Wyoming.
Shelley Polansky, President and CEO of the BBB of Northern Colorado and Wyoming stated that her organization intends to list BlackOxygen Organics as out-of-business on the BBB’s website. According to Polansky, if former BlackOxygen customers have unresolved issues with the company, the BBB recommends contacting their credit card company to dispute the charges.
The case against BlackOxygen began with an advertisement, according to Matt Wetherington, an Atlanta-based litigator. It featured a pregnant woman cradling her belly as well as a packet of BlackOxygen’s fulvic acid supplement powder.
“The average woman loses two pounds of minerals to her child per pregnancy,” the ad said, adding that “BlackOxygen Organics can help fix that, and give both mom and her children the minerals they require.”
This one stood out among the hundreds of calls and emails Wetherington’s law firm receives about dangerous products on the market. BlackOxygen was marketing a supplement to pregnant women and children, which is less regulated by the Food and Drug Administration than prescription medicines and other products. Wetherington is the father of a daughter.
Wetherington’s firm filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on November 19.
Wetherington claims that BlackOxygen’s internal documents provided contradictory information about whether these elements were included in the company’s supplements. A single BlackOxygen lab report, for example, indicated both unsafe and safe levels of lead and arsenic.
In court documents, BlackOxygen is accused of negligence, precisely due to adulterated food products and dangerous misrepresentation that the product is “safe for human consumption,” as well as making fraudulent and misleading statements and product liability. In addition, Wetherington and his firm have asked for punitive damages to be awarded to the plaintiffs due to BlackOxygen’s “willful, wanton, and reckless conduct.”
The lawsuit is also a class action, which means it aims to protect all US residents who have purchased BlackOxygen’s fulvic acid products in the last two years.
On November 22, BlackOxygen issued a public statement in response to the lawsuit. BlackOxygen’s CEO Marc Saint-Onge and President Carlo Garibaldi announced the company’s immediate closure on November 23. According to Wetherington, BlackOxygen claimed the shutdown was caused by a credit card processor freezing the company’s assets due to the high number of chargebacks, refutes, and fraud reports associated with their product.
Source: Thesheridanpress News
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