"studies were conducted by independent researchers" at various universities. Several of the studies were co-authored by Wise and Morin. Advertising violations In 2019, companies trading under the Juice Plus brand name in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom were levied a €1 million penalty by Italy’s Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) for deceptive marketing practices in breach of European Union advertising law. The AGCM cited evidence that the companies were posting fake user testimonials alleging that the products could help with weight loss and disease treatment. The parties involved had previously been the subject of an investigation on the Italian television program Patti Chiari that looked into the sales tactics used by distributors to market the products, and which revealed the use of secret Facebook groups where distributors were posing as satisfied customers. In February 2020, the company that markets Juice Plus in Australia was hit with a $37,800 penalty by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) subsequent to the issuance of three infringement notices relating to the promotion of Juice Plus vitamin products for medical conditions, and to the use of endorsements by health professionals, in violation of the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code. In June 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning letter to the Juice Plus Company for making unlawful claims that the company’s products could treat or prevent COVID-19, as well as misleading claims that business opportunity participants were likely to earn substantial income. O. J. Simpson University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter and MLMWatch commented on the unreliability of Juice Plus testimonials provided by former professional athlete O. J. Simpson. Simpson, known commonly as "O. J." and "The Juice", signed a multi-year six-figure contract with NSA in January 1994 and became an official celebrity endorser of Juice Plus. In March 1994, Simpson was videotaped telling 4,000 Juice Plus distributors at a sales meeting that the product had cured his arthritis, improved his golf game, and freed him from using anti-arthritic drugs. However, regarding the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, for which Simpson was tried and acquitted, Simpson claimed in his defence that he was too incapacitated by arthritis to have committed the murders and had continued to take the anti-inflammatory drug sulfasalazine. As a result of the controversy surrounding Simpson, NSA cancelled his endorsement contract and stopped using the Simpson videotape to promote Juice Plus. Juice