It’s game over for a bracelet company that boosted profits while claiming its product bolstered athletic performance.
The company that made the Power Balance bracelet, the hologram-embedded piece of rubber worn by sports superstars like Shaquille O’Neal, Lamar Odom and David Beckham, may have to cough up $57 million for misleading customers, according to TMZ.
Jason Damata of Power Balance LLC reached out to the Daily News to deny the $57 million amount.
“The rumors started by TMZ are of course, way off the mark. PB [Power Balance] is not going out of business,” Damata told the News. “PB is actually in the process of launching a new product, dubbed performance mouth gear in markets over the next few weeks.”
Damata said that there had been a recent settlement for $1 million and that the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankrupcy protection.
In January, the Southern California-based Power Balance LLC admitted its $30 bracelet didn’t really help athletes with balance, strength and coordination and issued a statement.
“We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct,” the company wrote in a statement to the press. “If you feel you have been misled by our promotions, we wish to unreservedly apologize and offer a full refund.”
It wasn’t just the athletes who were caught red-faced wearing a huckster product. An entire basketball team was nearly caught endorsing the phony bling.
A week after Power Balance issued its mea culpa, the NBA’s Sacramento Kings nearly forged a multimillion-agreement to put the company’s name on the Kings’ basketball arena for at least five years.
A lawsuit was soon filed in federal court seeking damages.
More than 2.5 million Power Balance bracelets have been sold worldwide.
