Charges Settled

Several online pharmacies settled federal charges that they made false claims about their facilities and medical expertise. The Federal Trade Commission reached settlements with Worldwidemedicine.com, Focusmedical.com and several other Web sites and individuals that offered for sale the anti-impotence pill Viagra and other drugs. The defendants agreed not to make deceptive claims, provide medical or financial information about customers to third parties or charge customers’ credit cards without prior authorization, the FTC said. In a typical example of the alleged violations, the FTC said Focusmedical.com claimed falsely that it was a full-service clinic with an international network of doctors. The company had no clinic and the physician “network” was one out-of-state physician, the FTC said.