Doctor Selling “Miracle Cure” Indicted For Fraud
Marketing and sale of a “wonder cure” has been around forever, and as Gary Coody, R.Ph. and national health fraud coordinator for the FDA says, “the Internet has opened up the world market to people from their personal computers.” “The snake oil salesman is still alive,” says Coody.
It’s no surprise that “snake oil” salesmen are popping up with purported “wonder cures” for the coronavirus outbreak. The FDA and Department of Justice are cracking down to put a stop to any purported miracle cures, not just snake oil salesmen, including a religious group in Angleton, Texas.
Similarly, a licensed physician was recently indicted with mail fraud relating to the sale of a purported “100%” cure for COVID-19, which the licensed physician claimed would “render customers immune to the virus for at least six weeks,” announced the Department of Justice Thursday April 16th.
The FBI executed a search warrant after receiving a tip and conducting an undercover investigation of the licensed physician’s scheme. The licensed physician operated a clinic that offered assortment of beauty-related products and services, including hair removal and botox. Late last month, the licensed physician through his clinic launched an email advertising campaign that included “COVID-19 treatment packs,” labeled as a “concierge medicine experience” for $3995 for a family of four, including medicines hydroxychloroquine, a medication with a unclear efficacy against COVID-19 according to reports, aztithromycin, and “anti-anxiety treatments to help you avoid panic if needed and help you sleep” according to the criminal complaint. As detailed in a recorded call between the licensed physician and the undercover FBI posing as a prospective customer, the licensed physician described the medication as “an amazing cure,” a “miracle cure” that would cure COVID-19 “100%,” and keep you immune from COVID-19 for “at least six weeks.”
The physician went on further to purport that the his medication package was a “magic bullet” that’s “preventative and curative.” . It’s hard to believe, it’s almost too good to be true. But it’s a remarkable clinical phenomenon.” Staley then on to claim further that, “I’ve never seen anything like this in medicine, just so you know. Really, I can’t think of anything. That, you’ve got a disease that literally disappears in hours.”
A week after the recorded call FBI agents asked the licensed physician in an interview whether he had claimed to patients that his treatment package was “100% effective” against COVID-19, to which the licensed physician responded, ““No, that would be foolish. We would never say anything like that, and that his medication’s effectiveness against the virus was “not definitive.”
As set out in the criminal complaint against the licensed physician, those pills to “help you sleep” were in fact Xanax (alprazolam), a schedule four controlled substance, issued and mailed without conducting a medical examination. The licensed physician also claimed he would be making his own pills through a connection hydroxycholoquine from China, which he would smuggle through customs and border authorities by falsely labeling the substance as extract from sweet potatoes. Department of Justice confirmed in their report that the licensed physician was in fact due to receive an import of “yam extract” imminently.
“We will not tolerate COVID-19 fraudsters who try to profit and take advantage of the pandemic fear to cheat, steal and harm others,” announced United States Attorney Brewer. “Rest assured: those who engage in this despicable conduct will find themselves in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors.”
“The sale of false cures, especially by a medical professional, will be vigorously investigated by the FBI,” stated Omer Meisel, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “The FBI is using a variety of tools to identify anyone who exploits the current crisis with fraudulent scams or a variety of cyber schemes – and is proactively warning the public about products claiming to save lives, before losing their money or creating false hope. Scammers seeking to profit by exploiting fear and uncertainty during this COVID-19 pandemic will be brought to justice.”
The licensed physician faces up to twenty years in prison, fines and a penalty assessment for his criminal fraud related to selling and marketing a purported COVID-19 “miracle cure.”
If you, friends, coworkers, or a family member see anything products or services related to the COVID-19 that includes the product or service is:
- “A Miracle Cure,”
- “A Wonder Drug,”
- “Magic Bullet,” or
- Otherwise conveys it will cure or prevent COVID-19 with a significantly high efficacy, such as “90%-100% of the time” without concrete scientific support,
Please visit the website of the Department of Justice, FBI, or FDA to report the activity and obtain more information.
