[*quote*]
Consumer Health Digest #24-25
June 23, 2024
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; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org.
###
Operator of “psychic” mass mailing scheme sentenced to 10 years in prisonPatrice Runner, a Canadian and French citizen, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for perpetrating a mass-mailing fraud that stole more than $175 million from more than 1.3 million victims in the United States. He was convicted in June 2023 of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of mail fraud and wire fraud. Four co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with the scheme: Maria Thanos, 60, and Philip Lett, 53, of Montreal, Canada; Sherry Gore, 73, of Indiana; and Daniel Arnold, 62, of Connecticut.
[Canadian man sentenced for operating $175M psychic mass-mailing fraud scheme
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/canadian-man-sentenced-operating-175m-psychic-mass-mailing-fraud-scheme. U.S. Department of Justice press release, April 15, 2024]
The indictment of Runner, dated October 25, 2018
https://www.justice.gov/civil/case/united-states-v-runner, describes the scheme he directed from 1994 through November 2014:
It involved sending millions of U.S. consumers letters purporting to be from well-known French “psychics” Maria Duval or Patrick Guerin.
No so-called psychics played any role.
The letters promised the opportunity to achieve great wealth and happiness for a fee.
The letters frequently stated that a psychic had seen a personalized vision regarding the recipient of the letter when, in fact, the scheme sent nearly identical letters to tens of thousands of potential victims each week.
Once a victim made a single payment in response to a letter, the victim was sent dozens of additional letters, all purporting to be personalized communications from the psychics and offering additional services and items for a fee.
Runner and his co-conspirators obtained the names of elderly and vulnerable victims by renting and trading mailing lists with other mail fraud schemers. Runner directed the co-conspirators who ran the day-to-day operations through a Canadian company.
Some victims made dozens of payments in response to the fraudulent letters and lost thousands of dollars.
Runner used a series of shell companies registered in Canada and Hong Kong to hide his involvement in the scheme while living in multiple foreign countries, including Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and Spain. The shell companies included National Parapsychology Center, Zodiac Zone, Destiny Research Group, and Destiny Research Center.
Based on the U.S. indictment
https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2024/06/23141307/indictment_-_patrice_runner_18-cr-578_unsealed.pdf, Runner was arrested in December 2018 in Ibiza, Spain, by officers of the Spanish National Police. The Spanish government released him to the custody of U.S. Postal Inspectors on Dec. 21, 2020, following extradition proceedings. A Postal Service podcast
https://usps-mailin-it.simplecast.com/episodes/how-postal-inspectors-cracked-the-largest-fraud-scheme-in-us-history described how the Postal Inspection Service tracked down Runner's operations and then went after companies that provided printing and other services that enabled the scheme.
In 1997, the Federal Trade Commission announced a consent order
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/1997/06/announced-actions-june-20-1997 with 2943174 Canada, Inc., also doing business as United Research Center, Inc., of Montreal, Quebec, and company president Patrice Runner. The order settled charges in connection with their marketing of the "Svelt-PATCH," a skin patch that purportedly melts away body fat. The order required the respondents to have scientific substantiation for any weight-related benefit or for claims about the benefits or efficacy of any drug or device. It also prohibits misrepresentations about the existence or results of any test or study.
In 2002, a Quackwatch article on the nebulous “PhytoPharma/Macerat Weight-Loss Plan”
https://quackwatch.org/related/phonyads/adindex/phytopharma/ included a summary of a CTV news investigation that revealed that Runner was one of two principals of the scheme. The Walrus has published a comprehensive history of Runner's activities that includes quotes from many interviews with him.
[Browne R. The greatest scam ever written
https://thewalrus.ca/the-greatest-scam-ever-written/. The Walrus, July 26, 2023.]
The Justice Department advises consumers:
Be on the lookout for fraudulent “psychic,” lottery, prize-notification and sweepstakes scams.
Fraudsters often use official-sounding names, the names of real lotteries or sweepstakes, or pretend to be a government agent purportedly helping to secure a prize.
Don’t respond to phone calls, letters, or emails promising a large prize in exchange for a fee.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311) Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.
More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative web page
https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice and its Office for Victims of Crime web page
https://ovc.ojp.gov/.
The department’s consumer-protection activities are described on its Consumer Protection Branch web page
http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the Federal Trade Commission online
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or by calling 877-FTC-HELP.
###
Woman killed by lead-contaminated hemorrhoid ointmentThe Environmental Health Investigations Branch of the California Department of Health has issued this alert:
A woman in Sacramento developed severe lead poisoning and died after using a hemorrhoid ointment from Vietnam called "Cao Bôi Trĩ Cây Thầu Dầu."
Testing of the hemorrhoid ointment found it contained 4% lead (39,000 ppm), which is a highly dangerous amount. Lead is toxic and exposure to any amount of lead can harm health.
The woman purchased the ointment on Facebook, and a relative in Vietnam mailed it to her in the U.S. It is unclear if people can buy this ointment directly from the U.S.
[Woman dies from using a hemorrhoid ointment from Vietnam
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/EHIB/Pages/EIS/Alert-Hemorrhoid-Ointment-from-Vietnam.aspx. California Department of Public Health, April 11, 2024]
###
Chris Kresser’s cognitive-enhancing supplements criticizedMedical research educator Katie Suleta, MPH, MS, has taken a close look at claims made on wellness influencer Chris Kresser’s website. The site claims citicoline, lion’s mane mushroom, phosphatidylserine, Bacopa monnieri, Ginkgo biloba, uridine monophosphate, and Alpinia galanga, which are sold as dietary supplements, have nootropic
https://www.acsh.org/news/2024/05/10/acsh-explains-nootropics-17822 (cognitive enhancing) effects. Kresser is a licensed acupuncturist, author of multiple books, and supplement seller who has appeared on Joe Rogan and Dr. Oz’s programs. Suleta concluded:
Kresser makes wild recommendations (e.g., specific dosages) often based on old, cherry picked [sic] studies and data from rodents. Kresser shows his lack of training and understanding of science through his recommendations of nootropics. Buyer beware, this stuff is not backed by science.
[Suleta K. Chris Kresser and the grift of nootropics supplements
https://www.acsh.org/news/2024/05/15/chris-kresser-and-grift-nootropics-supplements-17846. American Council on Science and Health, May 15, 2024]
###
==============
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)
[*/quote*]
Author
Topic: Operator of “psychic” mass mailing scheme sentenced to 10 years in prison (Read 55 times)