Donsbach wurde endlich verknackt. Leider nur auf Bewährung.
Wie ein Gericht so lange braucht, um ein so dämliches Urteil zu fällen... Es ist ein Skandal!
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Consumer Health Digest #10-50
December 16, 2010Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by
Stephen Barrett, M.D., with help from William M. London, Ed.D. 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.
###
Long-time quackery promoters convicted.In separate and unrelated cases, two long-time quackery promoters
have pleaded guilty to violating federal drug laws.
Kurt W. Donsbach, 75, pleaded guilty to 13 felony charges: five
counts of practicing medicine without a license, five counts of
selling/distributing misbranded drugs, and one count each of of
attempted grand theft, grand theft, and being a felon in possession
of a firearm. He also admitted that he personally inflicted a great
bodily injury on one of the victims related to the unlicensed
practice of medicine. The Court agreed to sentence Donsbach to
probation, which will include restrictions against practicing
medicine and distributing dietary supplements, and possible custody
in the county jail. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 4,
2011.
Robert W. Bradford, 79, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to
commit mail fraud and to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate
commerce. In his plea, Bradford admitted that he and several
codefendants made more than $400,000 selling a microscope they
claimed could be used to diagnose Lyme Disease and a drug treatment
plan they claimed could cure it. Bradford founded a company that
distributed marketing materials mischaracterizing Lyme disease as the
"Plague of the 21st Century" and claiming that more than 50% of
chronically ill people may be suffering from Lyme Disease. Bradford's
sentencing is scheduled for January 11, 2011.
Donsbach and Bradford have had similar careers. At various times,
both have (a) conducted businesses in Southern California, (b)
operated questionable clinics in Mexico, (c) used nonaccredited
credentials, (d) conducted educational programs, (e) marketed
questionable dietary supplements and drugs, (f) been the target of
both civil and criminal actions, (g) issued many publications, and
(h) headed politically aggressive groups that tried to weaken
government regulatory power. For detailed information on their
backgrounds, see:
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/donsbach.htmlhttp://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/Nonrecorg/cfcm.html###
"Psychic" charged with fraud.In March, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sean
David Morton and three corporate entities he operated with engaging
in a multi-million dollar offering fraud. [SEC charges nationally
known psychic in multi-million dollar offering fraud. SEC litigation
release, March 4, 2010]
http://www.casewatch.org/sec/morton/complaint.pdf The SEC complaint
charges:
**Beginning in 2006, Morton solicited individuals to invest in three
unregistered companies he and his wife Melissa Morton controlled
under the umbrella of Delphi Associates Investment Group: (1) Vajra
Productions, LLC, (2) 27 Investments, LLC, and (3) Magic Eight Ball
Distributing, Inc., .
**Morton claimed he would use his psychic expertise to provide
investment guidance to his investing team and falsely touted his
historical success in psychically predicting the various rises and
falls of the market.
**Morton further claimed that he would use the pooled funds to trade
in foreign currencies and distribute the trading profits among the
investors.
**Morton lied to investors about his past successes and key aspects
of the Delphi Group, for which he fraudulently raised more than $6
million from more than 100 investors.
**Morton and/or Melissa diverted some of the investor funds,
including at least $240,000 to their own nonprofit religious
organization, Prophecy Research Institute
http://www.casewatch.org/sec/morton/complaint.pdfIn addition to seminars, Morton's Web site markets a "holy tea"
claimed to gently cleanse the digestive tract, detoxify the body,
reduce the amount of stored fat in the body (particularly in the
abdomen).
http://www.seandavidmorton.com###
Dental x-ray use challenged.The New York Times has reported allegations that most dentists are
using outmoded equipment that exposes patients to unnecessary
radiation and that orthodontists and other specialists are embracing
a newer device that emits significantly more radiation than
conventional methods. Designed for dental offices, the device, called
a cone-beam CT scanner, provides brilliant 3-D images of the teeth,
roots, jaw and skull. Proponents say that the device enables dentists
to work with more precision, but critics say that this claim has not
been validated by research. [Bogdanich W, McGinty JC. Radiation
worries for children in dentists' chairs. New York Times, Nov 22,
2010]
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/us/23scan.htmlThe American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology and the
American Association of Endodontist have issued a joint position
statement saying that cone-beam CT "must not be used routinely for
endodontic diagnosis or for screening purposes in the absence of
clinical signs and symptoms."
http://www.aaomr.org/resource/resmgr/Docs/AAOMR-AAE_postition_paper_CB.pdf###
"Integrative medicine" promoters hoaxed.A British medical professor has reported how the organizers of an
international conference on integrative medicine invited him to
present his views on a "new version of reflexology" that he claimed
to have developed. In June, iin response to a request for papers,
Professor John C. McLachan of Durham University wrote that his method
relied on a representation of a homunculus (inverted fetus) over the
area of the buttocks that, when needled (as in acupuncture) or sucked
(as in cupping), produced responses that were more therapeutic than
those of conventional reflexology. Despite the obvious absurdity, the
conference's "science committee" invited McLachan to lecture for 20
minutes about his findings. McLachan concluded: "So called
integrative medicine should not be used as a way of smuggling
alternative practices into rational medicine by way of lowered
standards of critical thinking. Failure to detect an obvious hoax is
not an encouraging sign." [McLachan J. Integrative medicine and the
point of credulity. British Medical Journal 341:c6979, 2010] The full
text of McLachan's report is at
http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6979.full###
Request for help from Dr. Stephen Barrett
In June, Doctor's Data filed suit against Dr. Barrett because it
didn't like what he wrote about them on Quackwatch and in this
newsletter. The events leading up to the suit are described at
http://www.quackwatch.org/14Legal/dd_suit.html Contributions to his
defense fund can be made by mail or through
http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/donations.html###
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--
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
Chatham Crossing, Suite 107/208
11312 U.S. 15 501 North
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Telephone: (919) 533-6009
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Editor, Consumer Health Digest
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See:
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