A new report for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals that Georgia Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker “spent years promoting and developing health-conscious products with dubious benefits and a skepticism from the medical community” — many of which were “commercial failures, cost Walker and his business partners millions of dollars[,] and put his companies into deep debt.”
In one instance, Walker sold a drink that he “claimed protected against damage caused by smoking cigarettes.” And dubious promises aside, that product also turned out to be a “commercial failure,” Walker’s company later admitted to the SEC. More recently, during the height of the pandemic, Walker “promoted a product that he said ‘will kill any COVID on your body’ despite no evidence for his claim.” (Read more about that here, from The Daily Beast.)
For years, Walker has misrepresented and exaggerated his business record, while repeatedly lying about his accomplishments. That’s continued into Walker’s Senate campaign. Underscoring that point: just today, a newly-submitted complaint charges Walker with failing to correctly disclose the identity of his “consulting” clients and potentially breaking “federal law by failing to properly file his personal financial disclosures.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Herschel Walker spent years promoting health products with dubious claims
By: Dylan Jackson | April 28, 2022
Key Points:
- “He looked to ‘revolutionize’ the health market with products he said would prevent aging, help weight loss and even protect against the damages of smoking—despite little evidence, his company admitted in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.”
- “In many cases, the products were commercial failures, cost Walker and his business partners millions of dollars and put his companies into deep debt, for which creditors have repeatedly sued Walker and his associates to recover, as revealed by previous reporting by the AJC.”
- “Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Walker has more recently promoted a product that he said ‘will kill any COVID on your body’ despite no evidence for his claim.”
- “Soon after Walker retired from professional football, he founded Renaissance Man, Inc. Through this company, Walker developed, sold and became the spokesperson for Aloe-Lu-Ya, an aloe-based drink.”
- “In 2002, the company merged with American Consolidated Mining Co. and was renamed American Consolidated Management Group (ACMG). Walker was appointed as president and CEO.”
- “In its marketing, the company boasted of the ‘phytonutrients’ within Sunutra, a plant extract which included three to five servings of fruits and vegetables per serving. These phytonutrients reduces the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and more, the company said in government filings.”
- “Maureen Meister, a registered dietician and lab researcher at Georgia State University, said there are some benefits to phytonutrients and the ingredients of Walker’s products. But to portray the products as a way to reduce the likelihood and impact of more than a dozen different diseases and ailments is a stretch. ‘It certainly isn’t going to prevent disease,’ Meister said. ‘Certainly it can slow it but it won’t be a magic pill.’”
- “While many leading political figures urged Georgians to get inoculated from the coronavirus, Walker amplified a false tweet from performer Nikki Minaj about the vaccine causing swollen testicles and initially refused to tell the AJC whether he had received the shot.”
Read the full story here.
Published: Apr 28, 2022