THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170516
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
The vitamins and ``Sea of Galilee'' cosmetics of Pat Robertson's financially troubled KaloVita company are being shipped to a Dallas company, but about $500,000 in office furniture, printers and computers go on the auction block this morning.
Calvin Zedd, of Zedd Auctioneers, said Wednesday that he had received 200 calls about the sale, including many from television and radio stations. ``I've never seen so much interest,'' Zedd said. ``We're expecting a crowd.'' The sale will start at 10:30 a.m. at KaloVita headquarters, 4701 Columbus St.
KaloVita, a multilevel marketing company started with financial help from Robertson's nonprofit ministry, has been under scrutiny by attorneys general in Florida and Pennsylvania.
ABC News and Newsweek magazine recently ran stories on KaloVita that included interviews with several KaloVita distributors who contend they lost thousands after buying products they couldn't sell. Others have criticized Robertson for using money from his tax-exempt religious ministry to bolster a for-profit company.
KaloVita officials have denied that KaloVita misled distributors about investing in the products, and Robertson has fully repaid the nonprofit ventures' investments.
Most of the information in the ABC and Newsweek stories was reported a year ago in a series of articles in The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star.
Earlier this month, Robertson sold the company to Royal BodyCare Inc. in Dallas for an undisclosed amount. KaloVita will continue as a separate line of products under the umbrella of RoyalCare, but the company's offices in Virginia Beach will be closed.
Royal BodyCare's founder, Clinton Howard, is a self-made millionaire who pioneered medical laboratory service systems and conducted research on the use of aloe vera in treating cancer and infections. One of his company's best known products is True Aloe, an aloe vera drink. by CNB