The complaint alleges that GNC practice of promoting, marketing, distributing and/or selling weight loss products containing or purporting to contain human chorionic gonadotmpin (hCG) or a natural hCG alternative was deceptive and illegal.

hCG is a hormone produced by pregnant women that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat infertility. According to the complaint, although there is no credible scientific evidence that it is effective for such purposes, hCG has been prescribed by certain physicians in conjunction with an ultra low calorie diet to assist patients in losing weight. This combination of hCG injections and ultra low calorie dietary intake has been dubbed the “hCG Diet.”

Numerous over-the-counter and purported “homeopathic” products have appeared in the marketplace in an effort to capitalize on this latest fad diet despite the absence of scientific evidence that hCG injections are effective in promoting weight loss.

The FDA has called these products “an economic fraud” because there is no scientific evidence that they are effective for weight loss.

The complaint claims that GNC makes, promotes, markets, distributes and/or sells, over-the-counter and/or purported homeopathic products containing or purporting to contain hCG or a natural hCG alternative as effective weight loss treatments and by so doing it has reaped substantial profits that it otherwise would not have obtained and has caused consumers to expend money on products that they would not have purchased had they known the truth.

Plaintiff seeks to certify a class consisting of  all persons in the United States who purchased hCG Activator or HCG Platinum X-30 for personal, family or household use