PITTSBURGH – A customer of GNC is suing the company after purchasing products allegedly containing illegal substances.
Robert Brooks, a San Diego County resident, filed a complaint on Nov. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against GNC Holdings Inc., citing fraudulent business acts through the sale of illegal substances, unjust enrichment and other counts.
According to the complaint, Brooks, a customer of GNC, bought dietary products from an Escondido location in 2014, unaware of the fact that the products allegedly contained illegal substances. After purchasing the products, Brooks says he became aware that picamilon, a substance designed by the Soviet Union for the treatment of neurological disorders, and BMPEA, an amphetamine-related substance, were included in the ingredients. The suit states that these substances cannot be lawfully sold in the U.S. Brooks purports that it was unlawful for GNC to withhold this knowledge from customers and that they were in violation of fraudulent business acts by failing to provide this information.
Brooks is seeking compensation for statutory damages and equitable relief. He is represented by Gerald L. Rutledge of the Law Offices of Alfred G. Yates Jr. P.C. in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:15-cv-01424