FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                  CRM

APRIL 11, 2008                                                    (202) 514-2008

WWW.USDOJ.GOV                                                                     TDD (202) 514-1888

ARTHUR VANMOOR SENTENCED TO 210 MONTHS IN JAIL FOR SELLING FAKE CANCER CURE

               

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and David Bourne, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office, and Jonathan Solomon, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Division, announced today that defendant Arthur Vanmoor was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Jose A. Gonzalez, Jr., in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on April 11, 2008, to a term of 210 months in prison and a term of 3 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a special assessment in the amount of $1,900.00. The Court has scheduled a restitution hearing that will take place within the next 90 days. This action follows VANMOOR’s conviction on January 18, 2008, by a federal jury sitting in Fort Lauderdale of 19 separate counts that included Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, Misbranding of Drugs and the Introduction of Unapproved New Drugs into Interstate Commerce.

The evidence at trial revealed that VANMOOR hired individuals to create and write content for web sites with names such as www.cancercure.org and www.migrainemiracle.com to promote his products, “Cancer Control” and “Migraine Miracle,” by falsely claiming, among other things, that the products were FDA approved drugs guaranteed to cure numerous forms of cancer and migraine headaches. VANMOOR further arranged for the web sites to contain fake articles purportedly written by doctors. These fake articles were accompanied by pictures of people dressed like doctors holding the products as well as fictitious patient testimonials recommending the products.

In December of 2005, the United States Attorney’s Office obtained a temporary restraining order against VANMOOR and others prohibiting the continued promotion, advertisement, production, shipment, and/or sale of “Cancer Control,” “Migraine Miracle,” “Flu Fighter,” and any other non-FDA-approved drugs in interstate commerce. VANMOOR nevertheless continued to maintain his web sites and calling lines after the entry of the temporary restraining order. The court in the civil case found VANMOOR to be in civil contempt, and in January 2006 the United States indicted VANMOOR for criminal contempt as well as conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, misbranding of drugs and the introduction of unapproved new drugs into interstate commerce. In August 2007, VANMOOR was extradited to the United States from the Netherlands to face the charges in this case.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Keene and Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation Attorney Jason S. Hadges.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.