Posted 5/18/2006 05:13:00 PM by Douglas

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And if involves a large, up front payment and long-term commitment and you're required to establish a 'base,' chances are you're getting screwed, and not in a good way. Good to see that someone has a pyramid scheme direct marketing approach to high gas prices.

A small, smelly green ball marketed as a "gas pill" that saves fuel when dropped into a car's tank is worthless and part of an illegal pyramid scheme, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Wednesday.

Abbott announced a lawsuit against the maker of the pill, a day after a San Antonio judge signed a temporary restraining order forcing the company to cease alleged deceptive acts and freeze its assets.

The pills are dropped into vehicle gas tanks with the promise of drastically improved mileage at a time of skyrocketing fuel costs, but Abbott said they are merely the same chemicals used in mothballs and toilet bowl deodorant bars.

According to the lawsuit, the company makes money by getting consumers to purchase in bulk, then sell the pills to others. The company has hosted seminars throughout the state to find new customers.

The company Web site says "area managers," who buy in with 13 bottles for $499, can earn up to $730,000 a year. It also boasts that 1,000 new customers are signing up every two days. The company claims about 4,500 members in Texas.

Abbott said his office investigated after getting complaints, and tested the pills at the University of Texas.

Ronald Matthews, a mechanical engineering professor, said he studied the chemical compound of the pills last week and found them to be mostly naphthalene and high molecular weight alkanes, which he said are worthless to improving gas mileage.

Dr. Matthews to the rescue! What a joke. I found this after some quick googling, and my initial reaction is that it's total bullshit. Not that I have any idea about the chemical composition of the 'gas pill', but I seriously doubt that this many people know how to calculate their car's mileage. And to calculate the percentage difference? Not likely. And this isn't encouraging, either.

We are right now working with OUR Attorneys to vigorously defend OUR Company. Over the next few days you will be hearing and seeing some negative press. When you are successful in your industry a lot of people take shots at you because they want to obtain the success that the BioPerformance family has created. Just like Amway, Herbalife and Mary Kay we will come out of this challenge stronger than ever!

Yeah, if you want to compare yourself to the cult of Amway and Mary Kay (don't know about Herbalife, but judging from the number of fat people around here, I might as well lump 'em in, too) then I think you are casting your own die.