A federal judge on Monday ordered a Fulton County woman to pay $15,000 and submit to further sanctions in a settlement for making false claims by marketing essential oils and supplements as treatments for COVID-19.
Federal prosecutors said that during two Zoom webinars in January 2022, Eliza Bacot misled consumers by marketing several products from Utah-based multilevel marketing company doTerra as effective in preventing and treating COVID-19 and long-haul COVID-19, as well as counteracting side effects from COVID-19 vaccines.
The civil lawsuit was brought this month by the Department of Justice at the request of the Federal Trade Commission. Prosecutors say that Bacot violated two federal laws: the FTC Act, which prohibits deceptive business practices and false advertising, and the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, which specifically prohibits deceptive practices associated with COVID-19 for the duration of the federal government's public health emergency, which is currently set to expire in April.
Under a settlement that was jointly agreed upon by prosecutors and Bacot and approved by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg, Bacot is ordered to pay a civil penalty of $15,000 and share certain financial records for 10 years with the federal government.
The settlement states that Bacot — a licensed nurse practitioner who brands her business as The Organic South — neither admits nor denies any of the allegations of her alleged marketing.
Attorneys for Bacot did not provide...
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