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Consumer Health Digest #23-13
March 26, 2023
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. Its primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org###
Alleged fake COVID-19 vaccine card sellers indictedThe Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah; its owner, Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, Jr.; Moore’s office manager, Kari Dee Burgoyne; his receptionist, Sandra Flores; and Moore’s neighbor, Kristin Jackson Andersen, have been indicted
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.utd.137139/gov.uscourts.utd.137139.1.0.pdffor allegedly defrauding the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by:
*** destroying at least $28,000 worth of government-provided COVID-19 vaccines
*** distributing fraudulently completed vaccination-record cards worth at least 1,937 doses to others in exchange for either direct cash payments or required “donations” to a specified charitable organization, without administering a COVID-19 vaccine to the card recipient
*** administering saline shots to minors—at the request of their parents—so children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine
The defendants have been charged with (a) conspiracy to defraud the United States; (b) conspiracy to convert, sell, convey, and dispose of government property; and (c) conversion, sale, conveyance, and disposal of government property and aiding and abetting.
[Utah doctor and co-defendants charged for running a COVID-19 vaccine scheme to defraud the government and CDC
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ut/pr/utah-doctor-and-co-defendants-charged-running-covid-19-vaccine-scheme-defraud-government. U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Utah press release, Jan 18, 2023]
Andersen has posted anti-vaccine content on Facebook and Instagram. Dr. Moore signed onto a letter
http://drelef.org/2022-open-letter-fsmb-abms/pmc-support-letter-final.pdfexpressing support for:
(a) a group of COVID-skeptical doctors whose certification was under review by their respective medical boards, and
(b) ivermectin, a bogus COVID-19 treatment
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxda8q/the-ivermectin-guys-whole-thing-has-really-fallen-apartThe charitable organization to receive donations in the alleged scheme exists to “liberate the medical profession from government and industry conflicts of interest.”
[Merlan A. Plastic surgery clinic ran a vaccine scam where they poured shots down the drain, injected kids with saline, Feds allege
https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7bvda/plastic-surgery-clinic-ran-a-vaccine-scam-where-they-poured-shots-down-the-drain-injected-kids-with-saline-feds-allege. Vice, Jan 20, 2023]
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Promotion of unapproved retinitis pigmentosa treatments spotlightedRetinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an incurable eye disease that gradually causes blindness. Ramadan Younes, who has RP, has reported on his three years of investigating supposed miraculous treatments for this condition. Younes is also a reporter with the BBC. The main focus of his report is on Dr. Jeffrey Weiss of Miami, Florida, who claims in his promotional videos, “I am treating the untreatable. I am treating people who have never had hope.” Younes reports:
*** Weiss performs operations injecting bone marrow stem cells as part of a clinical trial for which patients have to pay $20,000 to participate.
*** The American Academy of Ophthalmology permanently terminated the membership of Dr. Weiss in 2021 after investigating the way the trial was done.
*** The clinical trial is chaired by Dr. Steven Levy, who had initial discussions with patients.
Levy surrendered his license to practice medicine in 2004 in both Connecticut and New York, where the state’s Department of Health had charged him with 41 specifications of professional misconduct including gross negligence, incompetence on more than one occasion, fraudulent practice and failing to comply with a federal law.
Dr Levy did not contest the allegations.
[Younes R. The doctors selling bogus treatments to people facing blindness
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-64838936. BBC News, March 16, 2023]
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LASIK eye surgery business ordered to stop deceptive advertisingThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a consent order against Ohio-based LCA-Vision, doing business as LasikPlus and Joffe MediCenter, related to allegedly deceptive ads for LASIK laser eye surgery.
[FTC approves final order against LCA-Vision, halting alleged bait-and-switch advertising for LASIK laser eye surgery
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/03/ftc-approves-final-order-against-lca-vision-halting-alleged-bait-switch-advertising-lasik-laser-eye?utm_source=govdelivery. FTC press release, March 15, 2023] According to the FTC’s January 2023 complaint
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/03/26172529/complaint_lca_vision.pdf, LCA allegedly:
*** Used advertising to trick consumers into believing they could have their vision corrected for less than $300 when only 6.5% of consumers lured in for consultations were eligible for the advertised promotional price for both eyes
*** in some ads, neglected to tell consumers up-front the promotional price was per-eye only
*** typically quoted patients a price between $1,800 and $2,295 per eye for anyone with worse than near-normal vision (20/40 eyesight) despite advertised claims
The final order
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/03/26171156/lca_final_order.pdfsettles the complaint and requires the defendants to pay $1.25 million for using the deceptive bait-and-switch advertising
bars LCA from the deceptive conduct alleged in the complaint
requires the defendants to make certain clear and conspicuous disclosures when advertising LASIK at a price or discount for which most consumers would not qualify
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Multilevel-marketing conference videos availableVideos of sessions
https://mlmconf2023.org/conference-videos/from the online conference “Multilevel Marketing: The Consumer Protection Challenge 2023,” are now available to be viewed for free. The event was the third annual multilevel-marketing (MLM) conference sponsored by The College of New Jersey School of Business.
Session 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRh8J7OSNlEaddressed how some current MLM businesses operate and outlined recent legal cases.
Session 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZud9t2TfWY&t=123sfeatured activists who are critical of MLM on social media.
Session 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmRforbOfHkfocused on MLM industry documents, statements, and behaviors. It included a talk by Dr. Stephen Barrett on the types of harm caused by the multilevel marketing of useless health products, how ZYTO devices are used to offer baseless recommendations for multilevel-marketed health products, and baseless health claims made for multilevel-marketed Healy devices. (Quackwatch has detailed reports on the ZYTO
https://quackwatch.org/device/reports/zyto/and Healy
https://quackwatch.org/device/reports/a-skeptical-look-at-the-healy-bioresonance-device/devices.)
Session 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz5SKd0HJT0&t=2sfocused on the Business Opportunity Rule and other recent MLM news.
Videos of the 2022 MLM conference
https://www.mlmconference.com/conference-videos-copyare also available.
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Toledo Clinic Cognitive Center operators convicted of fraudOliver Jenkins, M.D. and his wife, Sherry-Ann Jenkins, PhD, who co-founded the Toledo Clinic Cognitive Center, have been convicted of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and health-care fraud. Oliver was an ear, nose, and throat doctor at the Toledo Clinic. Testimony in the case indicated that the couple represented that patients suspected of cognitive disorders, particularly dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, could come to the Cognitive Center for neurocognitive testing, diagnosis, treatment, and referrals. Sherry-Ann would administer the neurocognitive testing under Oliver’s supervision and Oliver would make a diagnosis and provide medical treatment or a referral. However, Oliver never saw nor treated patients at the Cognitive Center. Sherry-Ann ordered PET scans of patients’ brains; interpreted the scans; diagnosed patients, including a college-aged student, with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or other impairments; recommended patients take coconut oil to improve memory; and instructed certain patients to see her every 3–6 weeks for the rest of their life. The couple billed Cognitive Center patients and benefits programs using Oliver’s billing number.
[Jury convicts pair of fraud and health care fraud in Toledo
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/jury-convicts-pair-fraud-and-health-care-fraud-toledo. U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Ohio press release, March 21, 2023]
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Telephone: (919) 533-6009
http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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