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FDA News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2007
Media Inquiries:
Brad A. Swezey, 301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries:
888-INFO-FDA
FDA Investigation Leads to Prison Sentence
for Woman Who Claimed to Cure 'Lou Gehrig's Disease' The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Criminal
Investigations today announced that a New Jersey woman has been sentenced
to 33 months in prison for falsely claiming that she could cure
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly called "Lou Gehrig's
Disease".
Elizabeth Lerner, a.k.a. "Elizabeth Cooperman," 38, of Egg Harbor City,
N.J., was sentenced on Dec. 12, 2007, in the U.S. District Court of New
Jersey for defrauding two ALS patients and their families. She also was
ordered to pay $35,390 in restitution to the victims of the scheme and a
criminal fine of $7,500.
"The FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations aggressively pursues those
that provide false hope to patients by making unproven medical claims to
unsuspecting patients — many with serious or life-threatening
conditions who are desperate for a medical cure," said Terry Vermillion,
director of FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations.
Lerner and her co-conspirator Charlene C. DeMarco, 55, a former doctor of
osteopathy in Egg Harbor City, were convicted in December 2006 of all
charges contained in an 11-count federal indictment. The indictment
included one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three
counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and one count of money
laundering.
DeMarco was sentenced on September 2007 to 57 months in prison, ordered to
pay $32,190 in restitution to victims of the scam, and to pay a criminal
fine of $7,500.
Evidence showed that from October 2002 until November 2004, DeMarco and
Lerner agreed to defraud ALS patients and their families by claiming they
could treat ALS patients with stem cell therapy, even though they knew
they could not. The defendants falsely told their patients and their
families that DeMarco had previously received FDA approval to treat ALS.
Jurors heard testimony from 24 government witnesses and viewed hundreds of
pieces of evidence regarding the defendants' scheme.
Prosecutors said that Lerner and DeMarco also attempted to defraud two
patients and their families in Louisiana of more than $140,000 and
successfully obtained more than $40,000 from the scheme. Witnesses
described how Learner and DeMarco illegally laundered money they received
and used the proceeds for personal expenses.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the
District of New Jersey in Camden and was investigated by the FDA's Office
of Criminal Investigations’ Metro Washington Field Office.
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