This Is Repellent

This Is Repellent

Yes, I know that there are plenty of married people out there who are fooling around behind their spouse's back. But that there is a firm that specializes in encouraging it is repulsive. I saw their ad on cable television recently, and like many of these commercials, I found myself wondering at first, "Is this satire?"

There was the "Smilin' Bob" commercials for Enzyte, which didn't quite ever promise that it was going to cause enlargement of certain body parts--and was so sleazy that at first I thought it was a Saturday Night Live commercial parody. And sure enough, it wasn't parody, but fraud. From the February 22, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle:

A federal court jury on Friday found the owner of a company that sells "male enhancement" tablets and other herbal supplements guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Steve Warshak, whose conviction was reported Friday by The Cincinnati Enquirer, is founder and president of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, which distributes Enzyte and a number of products alleged to boost energy, manage weight, reduce memory loss and aid restful sleep.

In answer to the question: "Would you want your mother to see this commercial? Would you want your mother to know that you were in this business?"

Prosecutors claimed customers were bilked out of $100 million through a series of deceptive ads, manipulated credit card transactions and the company's refusal to accept returns or cancel orders. They said unauthorized credit card charges generated thousands of complaints over unordered products.

Warshak's mother, Harriett Warshak, also was convicted of conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering.

The government also alleged the defendants obstructed investigations by two federal agencies.

Some former employees, including relatives of Warshak, pleaded guilty to other charges and cooperated with prosecutors. They testified that the company created fictitious doctors to endorse the pills, fabricated a customer-satisfaction survey and made up numbers to back claims about Enzyte's effectiveness.

I'm now seeing other commercials that are so similar to Enzyte that I have to assume that these are frauds who haven't been convicted yet.

A whole society built around immoral behavior. What a charming future we have ahead of us.