How mall skincare stores targeted hundreds of shoppers : NPR

Key Points:

• NPR investigation reveals that customers across the U.S. have been pressured into buying expensive skincare products and services they did not want or authorize, often resulting in thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges linked to stores selling products from Mazal Group, a California-based family-owned company.
• Many victims include vulnerable populations such as elderly and disabled individuals, who were subjected to high-pressure sales tactics, isolation, and deceptive pricing, with some stores employing unauthorized workers on tourist visas to maximize profits.
• Mazal Group and the family behind it, who own numerous skincare brands sold worldwide, have been implicated in setting strict refund policies and encouraging high markups, while denying direct responsibility for retail operations; they recently settled a class action lawsuit in Hawaii for $950,000 without admitting wrongdoing.
• Past federal investigations uncovered visa fraud, money laundering, and a "credit card overcharge scheme" associated with Israeli-owned skincare stores, leading to prison sentences for some operators, but similar abuses persist amid ongoing recruitment of salespeople through informal channels.
• Lab testing of a popular product revealed discrepancies between labeled and actual ingredients, raising concerns about product misbranding and the justification for exorbitant retail prices that can reach up to 130 times wholesale cost.