The trendy coffee brand that Meghan Markle invested in was targeted by a group that issued a violation notice and threatened to take legal action over ‘toxic chemicals’ allegedly found in its products.
The Duchess of Sussex confirmed in December 2020 that she had invested an undisclosed sum in Clevr Blends, a wellness coffee company which has a range of organic, gluten-free ‘SuperLattes’ in powder form.
Now DailyMail.com can reveal that Clevr was legally threatened by Safe Products for Californians (SPFC), on August 24, 2021, under a law that allows private groups to warn customers of the presence of toxic chemicals found in consumer goods.
Two months later the notice was withdrawn.
So did the Superlattes ever contain toxic chemicals, or were they removed based on a actual evidence? Both parties agreed to keep the reason confidential.
It turns out that SPFC are serial litigants who have served hundreds of lawsuits under California‘s Proposition 65, passed via a referendum in 1986 requiring businesses to warn customers of products containing toxic chemicals.
It allows private citizens, advocacy groups and attorneys to sue on behalf of the state ‘acting in the public interest’.
Meghan Markle revealed her partnership with Clevr Blends, a wellness coffee company founded by CEO Hannah Mendoza in December 2020
The brand sells a number of drinks, in powdered form, including ‘SuperLattes’ in a range of flavors
Critics have argued that it’s open to abuse from legal firms and litigants who are profiteering from the law.
In this case, the 60-day notice of violation stated that ‘lead and lead compounds’ were found in Clevr products without any ‘proper warnings’, giving the example of its ‘Rose Cacao SuperLatte’.
It lists possible ‘types of harm’ as ‘birth defects and other reproductive harm’.
The notice states that it had been selling these products since at least June 1, 2021.
The notice was served on the California Attorney General’s Office and all district attorneys in the state’s counties by SPFC’s attorney, Tanya Moore of Moore Law Firm, who stated that Clevr should make contact to resolve the matter to avoid ‘time-consuming and expensive litigation’.
Moore’s ex-husband Kenneth ‘Randy’ Moore owns SPFC and they are reportedly serial filers when it comes to Prop 65, with the LA Times stating in 2020 that SPFC had filed over 100 Prop 65 lawsuits and made nearly $700,000 in legal fees.
Additional documents show the violation notice was withdrawn in October 2021.
In an email statement to DailyMail.com, Moore said: ‘SPFC and Clevr Blends are both bound by a confidentiality agreement, which covers all communications and any exchange of information between them.
‘My former client can’t comment as to why the notice was withdrawn, nor can Clevr. I can confirm that the notice was indeed withdrawn, and there was no legal action taken, which is a matter of public knowledge. I can’t comment on what information was exchanged nor why the notice was withdrawn.
DailyMail.com can reveal the company was hit with a violation notice and legal threats for its alleged breach of California’s Proposition 65, in August 2021, by private firm Safe Products for Californians (SPFC)
The notice claimed Clevr failed to warn consumers about alleged lead and lead compounds found in its products
Additional documents obtained by DailyMail.com show the violation notice was withdrawn in October 2021, presumably after the two parties had found a resolution
‘If both parties authorize me to provide more details, I will be happy to do so.’
A legal spokesperson for Clevr Blends released its own statement, saying: ‘Product quality and safety is Clevr Blends’ top priority.
‘The company has been, and continues to be, in compliance with California’s Proposition 65. The notice was voluntarily withdrawn by Safe Products for Californians, LLC without a settlement as there was no basis for it.’
Moore is also a serial filer of hundreds of lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act and was exposed in the New York Times in 2021.
Albert Dytch, then 71 and suffering muscular dystrophy, filed more than 180 lawsuits with the support of Moore suing multiple restaurants, movie theaters, shops and educational institutions.
In 2017, Moore, ex Randy and his brother Ronald were sued by Fatemah Saniefar – whose pizzeria had been originally been sued by Ronald – in a case that was dismissed by a judge under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, saying they were ‘part of a criminal enterprise that uses fraudulent ADA actions, predicated on false allegations of disability, injury and standing, to collect quick settlements from California businesses and citizens’.
It stated that since 2009, Moore Law Firm had filed over 1,400 lawsuits with Ronald Moore serving as the ADA plaintiff in over 250 cases.
It goes on to say that ‘Moore has averred in ADA lawsuits that he requires the use of a wheelchair for mobility, Plaintiff [Saniefar] alleges that video surveillance of Ronald Moore from March 2015 to May 2015 shows him walking, kicking, hopping, and bending without any support and without a wheelchair’.
The case was settled and dismissed.
But reports and additional documents show Ronald and Tanya Moore of the SPFC are serial filers when it comes to Prop 65 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, for which they were countersued by pizzeria owner Fatemah Saniefar in 2017
With respect to Clevr’s violation notice, it went on to say that its products didn’t list chemicals without clear and reasonable warnings as required by Prop 65.
It added that ‘without proper warnings regarding the toxic effects of exposures to the listed chemical, resulting from contact with the products, California citizens lack the information necessary to make informed decisions on whether and how to eliminate (or reduce) the risk of exposure to the toxic chemical from the reasonably foreseeable use of the products.’
‘SFPC intends to file a citizen enforcement lawsuit’ unless there is a ‘binding written agreement’ to recall as best as possible all ‘products already sold… provide clear and reasonable warnings for products sold in the future or reformulate such products to eliminate the exposure of California citizens to the listed chemicals and pay an appropriate civil penalty.’
On the Clevr website, Rose Cocoa latte is described as ‘moody magic’ with a ‘gentle uplift’.
The ingredients are gluten-free organic oatmilk powder, organic coconut cream powder, monk fruit, organic cacao, organic MCT oil, Mucuna pruriens, organic Ashwagandha, organic Reishi, Himalayan pink salt, organic cinnamon, organic cardamom and rose extract.
Out of those, higher levels of lead have been found in cacao products and medical research suggests 15 per cent of oat milk contains a heavy metal such as lead.
Clevr Blends CEO and co-founder Hannah Mendoza
The Duchess of Sussex also shared a glowing five-star review of the line in November
The wellness product was also plugged by Meghan’s friend Oprah on Instagram
In March, the Food and Drug Administration recalled six brands of cinnamon for exceeding lead levels, which can happen from the soil being contaminated or the processing and packaging process.
These are cases not related to Clevr nor is there any suggestion that there is lead in its ingredients.
While this appears to be a legal shakedown, Clevr has been hit with negative press in the past.
In April 2021, DailyMail.com revealed that Clevr imported almost 19 tons of oat milk powder from a Chinese company based in Xinjiang, a brutal police state where an alleged genocide is taking place.
Human rights groups have urged Western companies to cut all business ties with the region because of appalling abuses, including the widespread use of forced labour and the detention of a million Uighur Muslims in re-education camps, where it’s claimed women are systematically raped.
We can also reveal that the former Suits actress has roped in her influential friends to invest in the brand.
Air Venture Partners have plowed millions into the business, with the firm headed up by Ali Guthy and Ryan Renker, the offspring of the founders of the controversial marketing firm Guthy-Renker, Bill Guthy and Greg Renker.
Ali’s mother is cosmetics tycoon Victoria Jackson, who has been befriended by Markle in the last year.
She was behind one of the first TV ‘infomercial’ make-up empires and it’s thought she and Bill are central to plans to make the duchess the ‘world’s highest paid influencer’.
Guthy-Renker has helped former supermodel Cindy Crawford turn her Meaningful Beauty line of cosmetics into a $100million brand.
Meghan has publicly promoted the wellness coffee over the years, even appearing in an ad for the brand shared on social media last year
In another clip shared months earlier, Meghan and Mendoza were seen sipping on a cup of the hot stuff
It’s also made millions for Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson and Heidi Klum, who all had beauty product lines by Guthy-Renker.
But the company has courted controversy.
It’s been fined over illegal business practices in California, placed under federal investigation and sued for $26million by thousands of women who claim its shampoo made their hair fall out, and had commercials banned in the UK for ‘misleading’ consumers.
In October 2021, DailyMail.com reported that Markle and Prince Harry had visited the Guthys’ luxury Carpinteria estate multiple times earlier in the year, even taking Markle’s mother Doria Ragland on one visit.
In the same year, Markle and Harry flew from New York to Los Angeles in a Guthy-Renker owned private jet sparking speculation that the firm and the duchess were going into business.
According to the trusted financial data websites Pitchbook.com and CB Insights, Air Venture Partners invested in Clevr Blends in May 12, 2023 when Clevr raked in $2.78million in a round of funding.
It’s not clear if all that money was put up by Air Venture Partners but it’s one of only three key investors – the other two are Markle and Selva Ventures.
Selva Ventures was founded by Kiva Dickinson and specializes in investing in health and wellness start ups.
