“Jilly juice” creator Jillian Epperly has received a formal warning from the FTC, five months after Ohio authorities demanded that she send them proof of her claims.

Ted McGrath for BuzzFeed News

The woman who claimed that her signature brew of fermented cabbage juice can reverse cancer, regrow limbs, and turn gay people straight, was warned by the Federal Trade Commission that making false health claims on a website is against the law. Jillian Epperly, an Ohio resident, received a sharply worded warning letter from the FTC Wednesday, directing her to review her statements on JillyJuice.com.



“It is against the law to make health claims, whether directly or indirectly, through advertising or other means, without adequate scientific support at the time the claims are made, or to exaggerate the benefits of products or services you are promoting,” the letter stated. “The FTC strongly urges you to review all claims for your products and ensure those are supported by competent and reliable scientific sources.” Epperly posted a screenshot of the letter on her Facebook page Thursday, a day after describing the contents in a Facebook video. She did not respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News. An FTC spokesperson confirmed that Epperly was sent a warning letter, but declined to provide a copy to BuzzFeed News. Citing policy, the spokesperson declined to confirm if the agency had opened an investigation into Epperly and JillyJuice.com.

The letter stated that violations of the FTC Act could result in legal action. “An order may require you to pay back money to consumers,” it read.

As BuzzFeed News revealed in March, Epperly has no medical training or education, but her bizarre theory that a range of ailments can be addressed by drinking salty, fermented cabbage juice attracted a dedicated Facebook following. At its peak in late 2017, her private Facebook group had some 58,000 members. The foundation of her theory is that disease is caused by parasites in the gut, called “candida.” The cabbage juice, she claimed, purges the invaders in “waterfalls” of diarrhea. Experts say that these ideas are not backed by medical science, and warn that the concoction could be dangerous to people with certain health conditions.



Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images Federal Trade Commission chair Joseph Simons.