A Louisiana-based company agreed Thursday to stop making and marketing untested products that were labeled and advertised as treatments for heart disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer and other maladies.
The agreement also stops the company, known as Cili Minerals, and its owner, Anton S. Botha, from marketing dietary supplements that the government says were adulterated. The federal complaint said the company failed to test ingredients or finished products as required by law.
Headquarters and a facility for manufacturing and distributing Cili Minerals products are located in Lafayette, according to court documents. Details of the agreement are in documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Lafayette.
The pact, which was announced in a news release by the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney in Lafayette, also calls for Cili Minerals to recall and destroy its products manufactured and distributed since June 1, 2014.
The company operated under names including Pick and Pay Inc. and Pick and Pay Hyper Inc. Its products were marketed under various names, including PoLith, Germanium and CilZinCo.
Prosecutors said the company marketed and labeled products as treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, depression, epilepsy, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis among other ailments, which means the products were considered drugs under the law. But the company didn't seek Food and Drug Administration approval for the products or have them tested for safety and effectiveness.
To get back into the business, Cili Minerals would have to meet several conditions outlined in the agreement. Among them, hiring independent experts to inspect its facilities and make sure it doesn't run afoul of federal law again.