Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that he and 19 other attorneys general and the city attorney of San Francisco entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with Phusion Projects LLC and its officers, Jaisen Freeman, Christopher Hunter, and Jeffrey Wright (collectively, “Phusion”).
The settlement resolves allegations that Phusion marketed and sold flavored malt beverages, namely “Four Loko,” in violation of consumer protection and trade practice statutes by promoting the drink to underage persons, promoting dangerous and excessive consumption of Four Loko, promoting the misuse of alcohol, and failing to disclose to consumers the effects and consequences of drinking alcoholic beverages combined with caffeine. Additionally, the settlement addresses Phusion’s practice of manufacturing, marketing, and selling unsafe and adulterated caffeinated alcoholic beverages prior to the FDA’s November 2010 letter warning Phusion that caffeinated Four Loko is an unsafe product.
As part of the settlement, Phusion agreed not to manufacture caffeinated alcoholic beverages and to reform how it markets and promotes its non-caffeinated flavored malt beverages, including Four Loko. Under the Assurance of Voluntary Compliance, Phusion cannot:
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Promote binge drinking, drinking while driving, consuming an alcoholic beverage by means of a rapid ingestion technique or device, or underage drinking;
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Promote to consumers, wholesalers, distributers, or marketers mixing its flavored malt beverages with products containing caffeine;
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Sell, offer for sale, distribute, or promote alcoholic products to underage persons;
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Hire models or actors for its promotional materials who are under the age of 25 or who appear to be under the age of 21;
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Use names, initials, logos, or mascots of any school, college, university, student organization, sorority, or fraternity in Phusion’s promotional materials for its alcohol products;
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Prevent the posting of, and promptly remove from its websites and social media accounts, any material that depicts or describes the consumption of its caffeinated alcohol beverages, the mixing of its flavored malt beverages with products containing caffeine, or the misuse of alcohol;
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Pay the state attorneys general who are signatories to the settlement and the city attorney of San Francisco $400,000. Ohio will receive more than $23,000.
In addition to Attorney General DeWine, the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington, along with the city attorney of San Francisco participated in the settlement.
Consumers who suspect a scam or unfair business practice should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at 800-282-0515 or visit
www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.