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To: SR 50
Being pardoned by a Clinton can be hazardous to your health.

Ironically, Braswell published a magazine called "Journal of Longevity" and a web site - http://www.journaloflongevity.com. Now he's dead at age 63.

9 posted on 11/03/2006 2:28:02 AM PST by HAL9000 (Get a Mac - The Ultimate FReeping Machine)
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To: HAL9000
Braswell made millions off his mail-order drug scam. Here's more on the pardon:

On his last day as President of the United States, [c]linton included Braswell among the 140 felons whom he pardoned. (The pardon was for Braswell's 1983 conviction.) Pardons normally require demonstrated good conduct for a substantial period of time after the criminal sentence is completed. Braswell's longstanding mail-order scams hardly fit that description. Many major news outlets reported that he was under investigation by the FDA, FTC, Internal Revenue Service, and several state attorneys general and that a federal grand jury in Los Angeles was investigating him for money laundering and tax evasion [20].

As the scandal broke, dozens of reporters began trying to understand why [c]linton pardoned Braswell. It turned out that the attorney who actually delivered the pardon application was Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother Hugh Rodham, who was promised payment of $200,000 if the pardon was granted. [c]linton stated that he was unaware of Braswell's pending legal troubles, and both [clintons] denied knowing that Hugh Rodham was advocating for Braswell.

Ironically, the pardon may have served a useful purpose by causing regulatory agencies to give higher priority to Braswell's illegal activities. In 2001, the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing that focused on Braswell and his misdeeds [21]. The hearing included testimony from a former business associate [22] and from an attorney who had sued Braswell on behalf of several clients [23]. In 2003, the FTC charged Braswell, four corporations, and Ron Tepper with false advertising [25]. In 2004, after having pleaded guilty to tax evasion and paid more than $10 million in back taxes, penalties and interest [26], Braswell was sentenced to 18 months in prison. A few weeks later, the FTC amended its civil complaint to add Drs. Lawrence and Kugler as defendants [27]. in June 2005, the corporations, Tepper, and Lawrence settled the charges against them by agreeing to pay a total of $605,000 and to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims for products in the future [28]. In October, Kugler agreed to pay $15,000 and to refrain from making future endorsements that are not based on competent evidence or within his represented areas of expertise [29].

In December 2005, Braswell signed a stipulation under which he:


* Will pay $1 million and turn over assets worth $3.5 million to settle the FTC’s charges
* Cannot market or help others in the direct-response marketing of any food, dietary supplement, or drug, for which a health benefit is claimed directly or by implication (except for FDA-approved product claims)
* Is prohibited from making false or unsubstantiated claims for all health-related products and services [30].

Gero Vita continues to market many of the products, but Braswell no longer owns it and the claims made for the products have been toned down.

It would be interesting to know why the FDA, the FTC, and the U.S. Postal Service did not try to stop Braswell's illegal activities sooner.


44 posted on 11/03/2006 4:58:55 AM PST by cloud8
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