CINCINNATI (AP) — Federal investigators overstepped constitutional bounds by searching e-mails without a warrant during a fraud investigation related to an herbal supplement company known for its “Smiling Bob” ads, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a lower-court ruling temporarily blocking investigators from additional e-mail searches in the case against Steven Warshak, owner and president of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals.
Mr. Warshak, whose company markets supplements that include a “natural male enhancement” product called Enzyte, argued that his Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures were violated.
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