Life Extension Foundation

The Life Extension Foundation (LEF) is a company that claimed goals of extending the healthy human lifespan by discovering methods to control aging and eradicate disease. Along with the Life Extension Buyer's Club, which sells vitamins and supplements, the Life Extension Foundation (LEF) was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It also has a call center location in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Life Extension Foundation
TypePrivate
IndustryHealth
Founded1980
FounderSaul Kent and William Faloon
Headquarters
United States
WebsiteLife Extension Foundation

Activities

Along with the Life Extension Buyer's Club, the Life Extension Foundation (LEF) was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Life Extension Foundation (LEF) was primarily funded by the sale of nutritional supplements to members of an affiliated entity, the Life Extension Buyer's Club. The Life Extension Buyer's Club was incorporated in Nevada, and has a separate EIN employer number than the Life Extension Foundation.

In the late 1990s, LEF sold "antiaging nostrums" like DHEA and melatonin.[1]

History

Life Extension Foundation was founded by Saul Kent and William Faloon in 1980.[1][2]

In 1987, the FDA raided the Life Extension Foundation's warehouse, and charged Kent and Faloon with 27 counts, including distributing unapproved drugs, in later dropped charges. In response, Kent and Faloon opened the FDA Holocaust Museum.[3]

In May 2013, the Internal Revenue Service revoked the Life Extension Foundations tax-exempt status, retroactive to 2006.[4] Forbes reported that "The IRS' problem with the Foundation is [...] an entirely worldly one: it asserts the membership organization's operations seem to be too entwined with the for-profit Life Extension Buyers Club."[5] On August 7, 2013, LEF filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the IRS' allegations.[6] In 2018 the exemption was reinstated retroactive to the date it was revoked (May 2013) (Employer Identification Number 591746396).[7][8]

In 2018, the Life Extension Foundation's tax-exempt status was reinstated retroactive to the date it was revoked, May 2013. The Life Extension Foundation also changed its name the same year, becoming the Biomedical Research and Longevity Society, Inc., or BRLS.[9]

Its most recent tax filing at the time stated that it had assets of over $25 million and netted more than $3 million on revenue of more than $18 million that year.[5]

See also

References
  1. Heard, Alex (1997-09-28). "Technology makes us optimistic; They want to live". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  2. Rose, Steve (2004-01-23). "Stephen Valentine talks about the battle to conquer death". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  3. Almond, Steven (June 8, 1994). "They're Gonna Live Forever". Miami New Times. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  4. "Report of Examination" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  5. Reilly, Peter J. "IRS Kills Tax Exemption Of Foundation Pushing Eternal Life". Forbes. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  6. Case 1:13-cv-01219, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
  7. "Life Extension Foundation Inc". Tax Exempt Organizations. Internal Revenue Service. July 6, 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  8. "Life Extension Foundation Inc". Tax Exempt Organizations. Internal Revenue Service. July 6, 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  9. "Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation of Life Extension Foundation Inc". CT Corporation. February 8, 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.