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Buckyballs and Buckycubes Refunds Now Available

Release Date: July 17, 2014
  • Buckyballs and Buckycubes High-Powered Magnet Sets
    Buckyballs and Buckycubes High-Powered Magnet Sets

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Owners of Buckyballs and Buckycubes can now obtain refunds.  These loose, high powered magnets pose a deadly risk to young children, tweens, and teens, if ingested. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging consumers to immediately stop use of all Buckyballs and Buckycubes and visit BuckyballsRecall.com to request a refund. 

Consumers should visit BuckyballsRecall.com, which has an online registration page to file a claim and is active and easy for consumers to use. Consumers may receive a refund no greater than the purchase price of the product, and partial refunds may be provided depending on the number of magnets returned. Consumers will have until January 17, 2015 to submit requests to the Trustee for refunds.

From 2009 to the present, CPSC staff has received numerous incident reports of ingestions involving Buckyballs and Buckycubes, many of which required surgery. This recall is intended to protect children and teenagers from the risk of injury that can occur when more than one magnet is ingested.

This refund program is being managed by a Trustee, who was selected by CPSC staff. The Recall Trust, which is controlled by CPSC, is being funded by Craig Zucker, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Funds provided by Zucker to the Recall Trust have been used to establish the recall website.

In July 2012, CPSC staff filed an administrative complaint against Maxfield and Oberton Holdings, LLC seeking a recall of Buckyballs and Buckycubes. CPSC amended that complaint in May 2013 to add Craig Zucker, individually, after Maxfield and Oberton Holdings was dissolved. CPSC staff and Zucker, individually and as an officer of Maxfield and Oberton Holdings, LLC reached a settlement agreement that includes the recall announced today and ends the legal proceeding.  The Commission approved the settlement agreement on May 9, 2014.

It is illegal under federal law for any person to sell, offer for sale, manufacture, distribute in commerce or import into the United States any Buckyballs or Buckycubes.

Release Number
14-235

About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years. 

Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.

For lifesaving information:

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