Metabolife

Metabolife is an American corporation based in Utah which manufactures dietary supplements. Metabolife's best-selling product, an ephedra-based supplement called Metabolife 356, once generated over $1 billion in annual sales.^[1] However, Metabolife 356 and other ephedra-containing supplements were linked to thousands of serious adverse events, including deaths, culminating in a ban on ephedra-containing dietary supplements as unsafe by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2004.

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Metabolife founder Michael Ellis was indicted on 8 counts of making false statements to the FDA in an effort to obstruct regulation of ephedra.^[2][3] Metabolife was also investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice for income tax evasion; ultimately, the company pled guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns and was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $600,000.^[4] Metabolife owner William Bradley also pled guilty to evading millions of dollars in taxes and was sentenced to 6 months in federal prison and 2 years of probation.^[5][6]

In response to falling sales, and facing more than $1 billion in personal injury legal claims related to Metabolife 356,^[7] Metabolife filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005.^[8] The company's furnishings and property, including a large collection of artwork, were liquidated in late 2006 to compensate creditors and settle outstanding personal-injury claims.^[9]

This company is now owned by Ideasphere Inc. ^[10]. They do a complete refresh of their product line at the moment. The Metabolife community is accessible via ^[11].

References