• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, July 15, 2009

Cosmetic surgery corporation Lifestyle Lift has long faced criticism by Web users who have posted scathing reviews at sites like InfomercialScams.com and RealSelf.com.

To counteract these pans, the company allegedly posted positive critiques by supposed patients to review sites and other destinations. But this strategy had a flaw: The "patients" were allegedly company employees who had been paid to enthuse about Lifestyle Lift.

Now, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has extracted $300,000 from Lifestyle Lift to settle allegations that the reviews amounted to deceptive commercial practices, false advertising, and fraudulent and conduct. Lifestyle Lift also promised it would no longer anonymously post positive reviews.

Company president Gordon Quick said in a statement that Cuomo's complaints "stem from a period prior to the present management team's leadership" and that all existing Web content meets acceptable business standards. The company also characterized some of the reviews as "representative of patient testimonials and comments rather than actual verbatim comments."

Some of the reviews, posted online by Cuomo's office, specifically responded to bad reports on other sites. "After my first consultation, I went online and read horror stories about Lifestyle Lift," someone who called herself "Ann" wrote. "I realized quickly that most of that stuff was made up," Ann continued.

Cuomo's action comes at a time when officials are increasingly turning their attention to the blogosphere. The Federal Trade Commission is considering updating guidelines on testimonials by requiring bloggers and online commenters to disclose any connections to marketers, including whether they received free review copies of products.

But, for all of the current regulatory interest in online shilling, the phenomenon is hardly new. It also defies an obvious legal solution, says Eric Goldman, formerly the general counsel for review site Epinions.com.

"Fake consumer reviews have been a problem for a long time. No one has found the magic bullet to eliminate them," says Goldman, currently the director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University. "There isn't a single easy legal doctrine to point to that declares that fake consumer reviews are illegitimate."

Lifestyle Lift has faced accusations of posting shill reviews in the past. In March of 2008, RealSelf.com accused Lifestyle Lift of breach of contract and computer fraud for allegedly directing its agents to pose as patients and post positive reviews on the site. In that case, Lifestyle Lift initially sued RealSelf.com for trademark infringement. The proceedings resulted in a confidential settlement.

Additionally, Lifestyle Lift lost a trademark infringement lawsuit against the owner of InfomericalScams.com, where consumers posted negative reviews. In that case, Judge Arthur Tarnow in Detroit ruled that InformercialScams.com hadn't violated Lifestyle Lift's trademark because consumers weren't likely to confuse the plastic surgery company with the review site.