Sauk Village man sued over acai diet websites

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Updated: April 21, 2011 11:55AM

The state has sued a Sauk Village man for fraudulently marketing acai berry diets online as part of a federal crackdown on marketers who con consumers into purchasing products through phony news websites.

Ishmael Lopez Jr. operates websites featuring fake news articles that advocate acai berry diet products and other items, ranging from bodybuilding supplements to teeth-whitening agents, Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office said Tuesday.

“Consumers across the country visit these fake marketing sites that are carefully – and illegally – disguised to represent professional news organizations, only to wind up unknowingly debited for extra diet products,” Madigan said. “These Internet con artists are profiting from purposely deceptive marketing ploys.”

The suit alleges when consumers click on links from Lopez’s sites, including thecnnews.org, cnnewsat6.com and newsline07.com, they are transferred to other websites to sign up for “free” trial product offers.

But, the attorney general’s office said, consumers are automatically enrolled in a subscription that charges for additional products — unless the consumer cancels within a 14-day period. Consumers are not notified of the cancellation requirement.

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County circuit court, seeks to require Lopez pay restitution to consumers with unresolved complaints. It also seeks a civil penalty of $50,000, additional penalties of $50,000 for each violation and as $10,000 per violation against a person 65 years or older.