A
CAUTIONARY TALE
Beware of Cancer Research Scams
04/13/05
Most all
of us have been there: a beloved wife, husband, mother, father, daughter,
son, or dear friend is diagnosed with cancer. We know the
treatment is painful and the cure, chancy. We hate the thought of
the suffering ahead. What we want more than anything is a breakthrough—a
cure that will also protect our loved ones from debilitating side
effects.
And then we hear
about a revolutionary cancer research project that sounds completely
on the up and up...it just needs financial backing.
Seductive? You bet.
Understandably, people fall for it like a ton of bricks.
Take a recent
case out of our Jacksonville Office:
A woman claiming
to have a master's degree in clinical nutrition was successfully marketing
a full-body "electrotherapy cancer machine" across the United
States.
The
wind up: She said it was a breakthrough
development by a London-based team of doctors, lab technicians,
and physicists from the combined research fields of electromagnetic
field therapy, radio frequency therapy, crystal healing therapy,
and "human energy" healing.
The
pitch: The machine had been tested on local cancer
patients in London who were now cured, and a European company
had promised to buy the machine for millions of dollars. Money
was needed to complete the project...and the return on investors'
money would be at least 50% and likely much more.
The
foul: Thanks to an alert local bank
investigator who was suspicious of an account suddenly receiving
massive numbers of wire transfers in 2003, our Jacksonville
Office was contacted. We opened a case and turned two undercover
agents into wannabe investors. It was just a matter of time
before a joint investigation with our local Florida police
partners turned up hard evidence that the full-body "electrotherapy
cancer machine" was a complete fraud...to the tune of
$2.5 million illegally raked in between 1997 and 2003.
Game
over: In mid-2004, investigators had enough evidence
for indictments on wire fraud charges. With our police partners—the
Citrus County Sheriff's Office in Florida and the Ascension
Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana—we arrested two
subjects. Trials are coming up shortly.
Lessons
learned: We've said it before, but we'll say it again: If
it sounds too good to be true, it IS too good to be true. Whether
it's a miracle cure or a miracle return on investment that interests
you, please first go down our checklist on how to avoid these
classic "advance fee scams".
Photo courtesy
of the National Cancer Institute
