Did Shark Tank ever invest in CBD gummies? The online scam, exposed

May 28, 2024

Despite still being illegal in a number of states, cannabis is a big business in the U.S. After all, the country is basically founded on the premise that making money is more important than anything else, and there are plenty of ways to rake in the cash using marijuana-based products, even those that don’t get you stereotypically high — like CBD sweets and products. However, even with this caveat, some businesses are still afraid to go all-in on the green thanks to its delicate legal status (it’s still a crime to possess weed on a federal level), so it’s pretty surprising to hear that the investment reality show Shark Tank might have funded a company that was set to produce CBD gummies.

What is Shark Tank?

Shark Tank is a business reality television show that ran its first episode on ABC in 2009. The show is a part of the international Dragon’s Den franchise, which began in Japan with the series Money Tigers, and follows wannabe businessmen and women as they pitch their ideas to wealthy investors, or “sharks,” who then decide whether or not to invest in their companies.

Although many deals appear to go through on the show, a fair few actually never end up happening thanks to due diligence by the investors. However, investors genuinely use their own cash, and many entrepreneurs get a massive boost in sales simply by appearing on the show thanks to the additional publicity, so it’s still a great bet to try and get on if you have a business idea. This explains why scammers might try and make unsuspecting customers believe that their product has the show’s seal of approval.

Who are the sharks on Shark Tank?

The original five sharks were business executive Kevin Harrington, FUBU founder Daymon John, real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, Croatian-American investor and television personality Robert Herjavec, and Canadian business brain Kevin O’Leary. After the first two seasons Harrington left and was replaced by film producer and money man Mark Cuban, and a season later inventor Lori Greiner was also added to the panel.

Throughout the various seasons there have also been guest sharks, including Giants owner Steve Tisch, former baseball star Alex Rodriguez, and famous adherent to pseudoscience Gwyneth Paltrow.

What CBD gummy manufacturer pretended to be on Shark Tank, and is it a scam?

A company that calls itself Keoni CBD Gummies has recently been claiming that all six sharks invested in its company in a historic, multi-million dollar deal. Its viral advertisement takes the form of a news article, and also ropes in businesswomen and sisters Donna and Rosy Khalife, who previously did appear on the show, claiming that the pair were the ones who secured the record-breaking funding.

The ad has several pieces of misleading information in it, including the following claim:

“Apparently the Khalife sisters have invented a new Keoni CBD Gummies formula that can stop Nicotine Cravings instantly & for good.”

The website on which the fake article appears is called Entertainment Today Inside News, but there is no other news on there, entertainment or otherwise. Any attempts to get off the article and explore other parts of the website just lead to more sales pages for the gummies.

O’Leary isn’t specifically mentioned in the advertisement, but altered photos of him holding up large packs of CBD gummies are displayed prominently in it. He hasn’t released a statement, but given how amateur the scam’s entire operation appears to be, and his reputation, he probably doesn’t need to. The Khalife sisters, however, have had to hit back, releasing a statement that confirms they are not affiliated with Keoni, nor Wellness Brands – the company that seems to own the CBD company.

Asked for comment by USA Today, Rosy Khalife confirmed they didn’t know anything about the product, as well as pointing out they had never pitched CBD gummies on the show. They added:

“We get dozens of messages a week about these gummies and want people to know the truth. It’s frustrating that this scam has been going on for months.”

The Khalife siblings pitched to investors on the show all the way back in 2014, trying to secure funding for their product Surprise Ride. It is a subscription service that supplies kids with non-screen, tactile educational tools to help them to improve their learning abilities inside and outside the classroom. Although they failed to secure funding while on the main show, they appeared two years later on the spin-off series Beyond the Tank, at which point O’Leary offered to fund them. Unlike the fake advertisement, this was in fact a moment of real Shark Tank history, as it was the first time one of the show’s investors had gotten back in touch with a former contestant and offered them the funding they required. The sisters are still running the business as co-founders, as per the company’s website.

O’Leary isn’t the only one displayed in the commercial. He’s flanked by two women, also holding up bags of the gummies. The original picture of the trio didn’t contain any images of the CBD product, and was taken outside of a store that sells paint and wine. The image appears to have originated on social media, having been posted by Wine & Design, the paint-and-sip store in question.

This isn’t the first time this has happened, either. Lots of companies claim to have been on Shark Tank in an attempt to boost sales, and in March there was a seemingly identical article about a different brand of CBD gummies making a similar claim. As a result, ABC has a section on their website that’s dedicated to confirming which companies have actually appeared on the show.

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