WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Amare Global Holdings Inc., its chief executive officer, a founding distributor, and the company’s former chief science officer, alleging the multilevel marketing company falsely promoted dietary supplements as treatments for conditions including depression, anxiety, and ADHD while misleading recruits about potential earnings.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, targets Amare’s marketing of products including Happy Juice, Kids Happy Juice, and Kids Mood+, which the FTC alleges were promoted with unsubstantiated claims about mental health benefits and disease treatment.
Federal regulators allege the company and its network of distributors promoted the supplements through social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, claiming the products could improve or treat mental health conditions in both children and adults.
According to the complaint, the company represented that its products could lower cortisol levels, increase serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, and treat or mitigate depression, anxiety, and ADHD without adequate scientific substantiation.
The FTC also alleges some distributors promoted the products as clinically proven and capable of reducing suicide risk among children.
“Amare’s claims were not only deceptive but dangerous since it was aware that some brand partners were taking advantage of parents looking for products to help their children, who suffer from serious conditions like depression and anxiety and need proven treatments,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said.
The agency named CEO and majority shareholder David Chung, founding brand partner Patrick Hintze, and former Chief Science Officer Shawn Talbott as defendants. The FTC noted that Talbott and Hintze are already subject to prior FTC orders prohibiting false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims.
In addition to the health-related allegations, regulators contend Amare misled prospective distributors, known as “brand partners,” about potential income opportunities.
The complaint alleges the company promoted claims that individuals could earn specified amounts of monthly income, supplement existing earnings, or replace full-time income regardless of prior multilevel marketing experience or social media reach.
The FTC voted 2-0 to authorize the lawsuit.
The case remains pending, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
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