Mannatech to pay millions to settle diet-supplement lawsuit

Star-Telegram.com

Dietary supplements seller Mannatech Inc. will return $4 million to customers and its founder will pay a $1 million fine for lying about the health benefits of its products, the Texas attorney general’s office announced Thursday.

At a news conference in Dallas, Attorney General Greg Abbott said the Coppell-based company tricked people into thinking its products would prevent, treat or even cure diseases.

"Bottom line, this is a warning to the general public: Be wary of phony claims of magic cure-all pills or false hope in a bottle," Abbott said. "You could be duped into purchasing something that has no real effect and no real value."

Under the agreement, Mannatech will also have to pay $2 million to cover the state’s costs in the case.

American Idol's Megan Joy Creates Program So Fan-Mail Can Fund Single Parents

PR Newswire

Megan Joy, the 23 year-old Utah native turned American Idol sensation, is already proving herself to be an on-stage favorite this season. But for many, it's her recent off-stage performance that is truly winning over America's heart. Known initially for her powerful, Amy Winehouse-like jazzy vocals, it was when Megan's strong single-mother status began to gain media attention that she found a creative way to help others in her situation - she turned her incoming fan-mail into non-profit, cash donations for struggling single-parents like herself.

Megan recently began receiving hundreds of support cards from members of Utah based SendOutCards.com, a company she and her family have been closely involved with for years. Touched by such an overwhelming response, Megan shortly found herself on the phone with the group helping to spearhead a fundraising effort for single parent programs like the national non-profit, Parents Without Partners Inc.

Taking the company mantra literally, "Changing Lives One Card at a Time," SendOutCards has rallied their network of more than 60,000 card senders to participate in the fundraising activity. Set up under the non-profit 'SOC Gives' division of the company, senders are now able to donate on a one-time or weekly basis for as long as they choose.

RBC Life Sciences' 2008 Net Sales Increase 13 Percent

Virtualization

RBC Life Sciences, Inc., a provider of proprietary nutritional supplements, wound care and pain management products, announced today that 2008 net sales increased 13 percent year over year as the company continued its domestic and international growth.

The company reported net sales of $30.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, compared to $27 million during the same period in 2007. It also reported net earnings of $1.62 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, in 2008 compared to net earnings of $1.69 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in 2007.

"In 2008, RBC Life Sciences continued the surge in growth that the company witnessed in 2007, when the firm produced record-setting earnings," said President and CEO John W. Price. "Sales generated by our international licensees grew 18 percent year over year while sales generated by our medical products brand, MPM Medical, Inc., grew 41 percent during that time. This growth is occurring at the same time that we are beginning to see good gains in our domestic, independent sales force."

MediaNet Group's BSP Rewards Expands Footprint in Network Marketing Channel

CNN Money

MediaNet Group Technologies, Inc., operating the largest online mall and affinity program platform through its BSP Rewards subsidiary, today announced that it has expanded its footprint within the network marketing channel with the implementation of a new programs for FHTM Canada, the Canadian branch of the successful Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing program in the U.S. and Your Ultimate Plan, a new product launched and marketed by JMG Net-Worth.

FHTM Canada is the Canadian operation of one of the most successful network marketing companies in the U.S., Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing, for which BSP already powers a private-branded mall. The FHTM Rewards Mall is used as a value-added benefit to representatives of Fortune's distributor network. The program is used as a recruiting tool, for loyalty and customer relationship management and allows Fortune representatives to shop at national merchants while promoting the company's internal products and services.

XELR8 Holdings Expands Affiliation With Major Medical Center

PR-USA.net

XELR8 Holdings, Inc., at its annual distributor meeting last week in Las Vegas, announced an affiliation with the prestigious Steadman Hawkins clinic, located in South Carolina. The Steadman Hawkins Clinic has some of the best-trained and most experienced physicians in the field of sports medicine and orthopedic surgery.

John Pougnet, CEO of XELR8 Holdings, Inc. stated, "The affiliation with both the Steadman Hawkins Clinic and the Greenville Hospital System validates the importance of our product lines and have proven to show the many benefits that people experience who take our BAZI products as a nutritional supplement on a daily basis. Our sales and marketing efforts continue to increase our sales channels among current distributors and penetrate new distributors on a daily basis."

"Dr. Richard Hawkins and I spent a number of years looking for potency without any contaminants -- a big deal for athletes as well as the casual person," says Dr. Jim Silliman, President and CEO of Steadman Hawkins and Medical Director of the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health at the Greenville Hospital System. "We wanted a complete line of products, and when we came across XELR8, it had the complete package. We did due diligence on its quality, and now our dieticians can offer BAZI throughout our facilities. In addition to using BAZI product lines in our health and medical facilities, I am pleased to say my entire family uses it."

Amway Selects Mzinga for MyBestSize.com Community

MarketWatch

Mzinga, the leader in business social media and learning solutions for the workplace, marketplace, and extended enterprise, today announced that Amway has chosen Mzinga's social media platform to power one of its online communities, MyBestSize.com.

MyBestSize is a member-driven community for Amway Global's Independent Business Owners (IBO), consumers and employees to connect, inspire and motivate those interested in weight loss or weight management. The community allows participants to learn from experts, share experiences and ask and answer questions through blogs, journals and discussion forums.

"At Amway, the best relationships with our customers and IBOs have been through face-to-face communications. As our business moved more digital and online, designing a community was the best way to reach our goals," said Seth Starner, business innovations manager at Amway. "We selected Mzinga as our provider because they understood what we wanted out of our community and were able to help us to build, manage and grow MyBestSize.com. Mzinga not only provided the expertise we needed, but they are, and continue to be, active participants."