ATLANTA, GA – The Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection (GOCP) has issued an order assessing an $847,480 civil penalty against Aqua Clear Systems of Georgia, Inc. and its principal, John Carbone, in connection with unfair and deceptive advertising practices. 

GOCP alleges that Aqua Clear and Carbone engaged in multiple deceptive acts and practices, including:

misrepresenting the nature of its business to consumers by disseminating postcards and water testing kits which represented that the company was a delivery service, a “water testing” organization, and an “energy research” company, when in fact the true purpose of the company was to sell water purification systems and solar panel systems to consumers; 

disseminating postcards that advertised sales promotions in which consumers could participate if they allowed Aqua Clear representatives to test the water in their home; however, the postcards did not contain any disclosures related to the promotional offers; 

disseminating postcards to consumers that falsely represented that Aqua Clear’s technicians were certified by the Water Quality Association;

using the NASA logo in its postcards and websites thereby implying that NASA approves and/or uses Aqua Clear products, which is not the case;

representing through its websites, “purewater4ever.com” and “aquaclearsystems.com”, that the company is a member of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, which it is not.

Aqua Clear disseminated thousands of these allegedly deceptive advertisements in an effort to market its products. GOCP estimates the company had a total of 42,374 violations of Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act.  “This is a very significant and well-deserved penalty,” says John Sours, Administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection.  “It is important that we crack down on unlawful advertisers and that the sanctity of consumers’ homes is not disrupted by predators using deceptive methods.”