Dr. Oz made reputation as a surgeon, a fortune as a salesman

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Dr. Mehmet Oz rolled onstage inside of an inflatable orb, put on a hydrating face mask and proceeded to pitch a new line of skin care products to a convention of supplement distributors at Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena in 2018. The crowd roared in applause.

The celebrity surgeon's appearance seemed like an extension of “The Dr. Oz Show” on daytime TV. But his attendance was in service of the convention's host, Usana Health Sciences, a Utah-based supplement manufacturer that has been investigated by federal authorities, sued by its own shareholders and accused of operating like a pyramid scheme.

The company was also a top advertiser on Oz's show, paying at least $50 million to be a “trusted partner and sponsor” featured in regular segments that often blurred the line between medical advice and advertising, while also donating millions of dollars more to Oz's charity, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press.

Oz may have made his reputation as a surgeon. But he made a fortune as a salesman. Now he is trying to leverage his celebrity as the Republican nominee in a bitterly contested U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania that could determine which party will hold power for the rest of President Joe Biden's term.

The outcome of the race could turn on whether voters view the first-time candidate as the trusted doctor he portrayed on TV or a pitchman who repeatedly promoted products of questionable medical value.

“I like Mehmet Oz, but we did a lot of bull when I worked there,” said Dr. Gregory Katz, a cardiologist and assistant professor at the New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine.

Katz, who worked in the medical unit on Oz’s show to check segments for accuracy in 2010, said Oz was a kind boss who taught him a lot about...