ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE
Date: December 30, 2016
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA), as part of the California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force, comprised of 10 district attorneys’ offices including Santa Clara, Alameda, Sonoma, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Santa Cruz, Shasta, and Solano Counties, announced a settlement today in a consumer protection action against Sears Holdings Management Corporation, formerly Sears Roebuck and Company (Sears).
The action was filed in Orange County Superior Court yesterday, Dec. 29, 2016, and the settlement is awaiting approval by a Superior Court Judge. The complaint alleges that Sears advertised and sold, and allowed third parties to advertise and sell, nutritional supplement products banned by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for containing dangerous undeclared substances, including sibutramine and sildenafil, on its websites. Sibutramine is a stimulant that can trigger heart attack and stroke. Sildenafil is the pharmaceutical ingredient used in erectile dysfunction drugs. The complaint also alleges Sears sold other diet products that are illegal in California, including diet patches and ephedra supplements, and also allowed third parties to sell these products on its websites. Continue reading