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Metabolife
Metabolife International is a diet supplement company with its main office in San Diego, CA. William Bradley, Michael Ellis and Michael Blevins started Metabolife in the early 1990s. Both Ellis and Blevins had been previously caught and charged with manufacturing and dealing methamphetamine in 1988.
During the 1990s the company made billions of dollars on its Metabolife 365 product, an ephedra-containing diet supplement. In 1999 the number of people using ephedra products numbered into 12 million. Metabolife 365 came under intense investigation after several people who were taking the supplement died or became seriously ill.
In April of 2004, the FDA banned ephedra for use in any products. In 2005 the ban was reversed but with limits on the amount of ephedra that can be used.
Metabolife has been the target of hundreds of government investigations, civil lawsuits, and other controversies. A grand jury found Michael Ellis, then CEO of Metabolife, guilty of lying to federal regulators about the safety of Metabolife 365. Michael Blevins pleaded guilty to weapons charges and faces up to two years in federal prison. William Bradley admitted to illegal tax evasion strategies that the company often used when filing its business reports.
In one case, Bradley paid about $6.4 million to a nonprofit that he had setup called The Bradley Foundation. The money was hidden from corporate taxation because it was allegedly a nonprofit educational foundation. In just one year, from 1997-1998 Bradley deposited over $4 million in various hidden bank accounts and then split up the funds between the three company founders.
Following the scandals, Metabolife filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July of 2005. The company also announced the possibility of a sale of its assets to another company, IdeaSphere Inc., for $23.5 million. In September of 2005 IdeaSphere pulled out of its offer, however, saying that Metabolife did not follow business operating-procedures since filing bankruptcy. The company''s assets will be sold under Section 363 of the California Bankruptcy Code.
As many as 155 deaths and over 1,400 other adverse affects were linked to ephedra and ephedra containing products. Many of the supplements called their ephedra by its other name on their ingredient list: ma huang. Some of the side effects included:
- high blood pressure
- insomnia
- nervousness
- headaches
- seizures
- heart attacks
- strokes
In one of hundreds of lawsuits against Metabolife, a jury awarded Rhea McAllister $7.4 million, to be paid by Metabolife. The woman had suffered brain damage from a stroke while taking Metabolife diet supplements that included ephedra.
Ephedra, the main ingredient of the now-banned Metabolife 365, was once very widely available and used by dieters and bodybuilders. The stimulant increased heart rate and constricted blood vessels. It was widely used in sports and was seen as responsible for the death of Baltimore Orioles pitching potential Steve Bechler.
If you have experienced side effects, please contact an Ephedra lawyer to learn more about your legal rights.
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