Class Action Alleges Thermofight Supplement Is Unsafe, Ineffective at Rapid Weight Loss, Fat Burning

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Thermofight buyers have been deceived into believing the supplement is a safe and effective rapid weight loss solution and fat burner, a proposed class action alleges.

The 26-page lawsuit charges that the makers of Thermofight, defendants It Works Marketing, Inc.; It Works! Global, Inc.; It Works CEO Mark Pentecost; and Paul Nassif, a plastic surgeon and star of the E! network reality shows “Botched” and “Botched by Nature,” have violated federal and California laws by having engaged in a “long-term effort to fraudulently market” the supplement as safe and effective, including through the use of fake Amazon reviews. 

According to the case, Thermofight is an unapproved new drug, and therefore requires FDA approval to sell. 

Moreover, the complaint alleges the defendants have engaged in unfair and unlawful, not to mention tough-to-cancel, auto-billing practices, and utilized so-called “membership fees” as a means to “extract more money from consumers.” The suit claims consumers have been hit with “unauthorized” charges for not only Thermofight but also “a large number of other dubious products,” including “slimming” gummy candies; a “Skinny Wrap” containing seaweed and green tea and purported to tighten, tone and smooth the stomach, hips, thighs and arms; and a “body contouring gel.”

Per the case, hidden within the It Works online checkout process is a “loyal customer agreement” that stipulates that any consumer looking to buy one It Works product must either make a three-consecutive-month commitment to an auto-shipment order or pay a $50 membership fee. 

“In the last year alone, the [Better Business Bureau] received 190 complaints about It Works!, the vast majority of which relate to the auto-billing/Membership Fee scheme described above,” the lawsuit says, claiming the plaintiff was charged for two months’ worth of Thermofight before she even realized she was enrolled into the auto-shipment program. 

According to the complaint, Thermofight is essentially an unapproved new drug given the claims that appear on the supplement’s label, as well as on the It Works website and Amazon, are impermissible under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and California’s Sherman Law. Claims subject to federal and state labeling regulations are those that state a product is “intended to affect the structure and function of the body, and to cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease,” per the case.

The plaintiff claims to have purchased Thermofight for $39.95 plus shipping and handling under the belief that the product, with its purported “thermogenic weight loss formula,” would boost her metabolism, burn fat and provide rapid weight loss. Although the plaintiff used the supplement as directed, Thermofight delivered no results at all, much less any of the advertised benefits, the lawsuit alleges. 

“Because Plaintiff expected these statements to be true and honest, but they were not, she did not receive the benefit of her purchases,” the suit says. 

On the It Works website, the company claims Thermofight is “designed to boost your metabolism and melt away fat”; “contains Caffeine and Jalapeno Pepper to help you achieve and maintain an ideal fat-burning mode”; can “[f]ire up your thermogenic weight loss”; “[u]ses clinically proven weight-loss ingredient that helps you lose an average of 31 pounds in 90 days!”; “[b]oosts fat, carb, macronutrient, and stored energy metabolism”; “[h]elps keep blood sugar under control and decreases sugar cravings”; “[s]upports energy levels and combats tiredness”; is a “simple and convenient way to burn more fat—even without exercise” and “[a]ccelerates ketosis by supporting rapid ketone generation,” among other claims, the lawsuit says.

The claims pushed by the defendants suggesting that Thermofight can burn fat, increase energy and provide rapid weight loss render the product a “drug” under law, the lawsuit says, noting that it is unlawful to manufacture or sell any drug that is misbranded. 

According to the suit, the marketing claims for Thermofight represent the product as able to treat conditions not amendable to self-diagnosis, and the directions for use “are not and likely cannot be written such that a layperson can safely use this product to treat those conditions,” the case says. The supplement’s label therefore lacks “adequate directions for use,” rending the product misbranded, the complaint says.  

The suit goes on to allege that the ReviewMeta program found that 27 percent of the reviews of Thermofight on Amazon “were deemed probable frauds.”

The lawsuit looks to cover all individuals who bought Thermofight in the United States for their own personal or household use and not for resale from September 1, 2017 through the present. The case also looks to represent those who were charged by the defendants under their automatic renewal program in the U.S. during the same timeframe.

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