Metabolife
Company type | Dietary supplements |
---|---|
Website | Official website |
Metabolife International, Inc. was a
Subsequently, Metabolife's founder Michael Ellis was convicted of lying to the FDA and concealing evidence of ephedra's dangers, and the company and its owner were both convicted of
History
Metabolife was founded in the early 1990s by Michael Ellis, a former police officer on probation for charges relating to his involvement with a methamphetamine lab.[3][4] Ellis and a boyhood friend, Michael Blevins, were arrested in 1989 for producing and distributing methamphetamine. Both Ellis and Blevins cooperated with federal authorities in return for lighter sentences. Following Blevins' release from prison, the two formed Metabolife to market ephedra, a herbal supplement containing compounds chemically related to methamphetamine.[4] Ellis served as the company's CEO until September 2000, when he was succeeded by David Brown (Brown went on to serve as president and CEO of LifeVantage in 2008).[5]
Metabolife 356, an ephedra supplement manufactured by
Regulation and lobbying
In the late 1990s, the
Metabolife took an active role in
Legal issues
Metabolife was investigated by the
According to federal prosecutors in the case against Metabolife and its executives, the company's certified public accountant, Michael Compton, knew about and helped conceal Metabolife's illegal activities.[18] Compton had admitted falsifying tax returns for company executives and was complicit in the company's failure to account for $93.7 million in income on its income tax returns from 1996 through 1999.[18][19][20][21] Compton had assisted the company in setting up secret offshore bank accounts and trusts in the Cayman Islands and was aware that Bradley, Ellis, and Blevins each had over $1 million in unreported cash concealed in safes within their homes.[20] In July 2002, criminal investigators of the Internal Revenue Service raided Compton's office, seizing documents and computer data,[20] and in November 2003, 10 days after a warrant against Metabolife and its principals was unsealed in U.S. District Court, Compton died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.[20]
Some of the politicians associated with Metabolife also encountered legal difficulties; Texas state legislators Jeff Wentworth and Rick Green were accused of illegal lobbying on behalf of the company.[4]
Following the FDA's ban of ephedra, Michael Ellis was indicted on eight counts of
In response to falling sales, and facing more than $1 billion in
Metabolife's non-ephedra assets were acquired by Ideasphere Inc., a New York-based dietary-supplement manufacturer, for $12 million in 2007.[24] In 2008, Michael Ellis authored a memoir entitled The Metabolife Story: The Rape of Cinderella, with a testimonial by the former FBI special agent who arrested Ellis in 1989 for producing and distributing methamphetamine.
References
- ^ a b c Allen, Mike (2005-10-17). "Metabolife Continues Its Search for Buyer". San Diego Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. October 2002. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
- ^ a b c Brownlee, Shannon (2000-06-07). "Swallowing Ephedra". Salon.com. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- BusinessWeek. Archived from the originalon July 10, 2012.
- ^ Gonzalez, Steve (November 30, 2004). "Metabolife and Walgreen's hit up for $450k". The Madison / St. Clair Record. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
- ^ Bortnick, Barry (April 22, 2000). "Diet drug maker faces wrongful death lawsuits -- maker of Metabolife 356 is targeted". The Gazette. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
- ISBN 978-0-7679-2042-1.
- S2CID 152994880.
- PMID 12473963.
- S2CID 7720854.
- S2CID 41561481.
- S2CID 24777680.
- S2CID 13302833.
- PMID 14722148.
- ^ a b "Metabolife and owner William Bradley Plead Guilty to Tax Charges" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. 2005-10-05. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ Potter, Matt (2006-10-05). "Breaking Stories: Case Closed". SanDiegoReader.com. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- Seattle Times. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Bauder, Don (November 26, 2003). "A Metabolife Death". San Diego Reader. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ Vardi, Nathan (April 19, 2004). "Poison Pills". Forbes. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ "Criminal investigation sought for diet supplement seller". USA Today. 2002-08-15. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ a b "Metabolife Founder Gets 6-Month Prison Sentence". Law360.
- San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ Bell, Diane (2006-11-30). "Metabolife's Artwork Goes on the Block Today". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
External links
- Metabolife home page
- Metabolife 356 Associated With Increased Cardiac Risk. Peggy Peck, Medscape
- Bent S, Tiedt TN, Odden MC, Shlipak MG (March 2003). "The relative safety of ephedra compared with other herbal products". PMID 12639079.