Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? · 2009-01-12 11:00

An investigation of the promotion of “EMR shielding” products as a quasi-medical treatment for autism and chronic illness

“Detoxification Specialist” Sued for Misrepresentation

Courthouse News Service reports that the proprietor of a Tennessee “detoxification clinic” has been sued by a client for misrepresentation, consumer law violations and intentional infliction of emotional distress following a “bizarre series of treatments” for a variety of inaccurate diagnoses. Attorney Adam Dread of the Nashville firm Durham & Dread represents the plaintiff in Walters v. Mariea (Case #08785, Williamson County Circuit Court, filed December 17, 2008).

Defendant Tamara Jo Mariea, owner and operator of Internal Balance Inc. in Brentwood, Tennessee, describes herself as a “Biochemist and Certified Clinical Nutritionist,” “Biochemical Detoxification Specialist” and “Certified Electromagnetic Radiation Safety Advisor,” and claims to possess a Ph.D. degree.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff contacted Mariea in May 2008 seeking treatment for suspected mercury toxicity, and faxed her the results of various blood tests. During a paid telephone consultation, Mariea is said to have diagnosed the plaintiff with mercury toxicity, liver and kidney dysfunction, pre-cancerous blood morphology, and suspected parasite infestation, and reportedly declared that the plaintiff needed to come to her clinic “as soon as possible” for a two-week detoxification that would cure her of these conditions; however, full payment was required before the treatment could begin. In fear of imminent danger, the plaintiff paid $8,900, then traveled 700 miles from southern Louisiana to Nashville for treatment.

The complaint describes the plaintiff’s arrival in Nashville, at which time Mariea directed her to visit a local dentist to have all of her amalgam fillings removed. After this was accomplished, the plaintiff arrived at the clinic, where Mariea explained that many of her problems were caused by electromagnetic radiation (EMR) and wireless frequencies. Mariea and her staff are said to have then persuaded the plaintiff to purchase a device manufactured by BioPro Technology to protect her from this radiation, without informing her that as an “independent consultant” in BioPro’s multilevel marketing organization, Mariea receives funds for every sale made through her clinic or through distributors in her “downline.”

The complaint alleges that the next day, Mariea tested the plaintiff, diagnosed her with “cancerous cells in the liver,” stated that a visit to a hepatologist and a biopsy were in order, then recanted the suggestion, warning that “a doctor’s involvement would make it more difficult” to continue treatment.

Mariea is said to have advised the plaintiff that ionic foot baths would “detoxify” her body, alternately describing the black flakes that appeared in the water during the bath as “toxins” and “parasites.” After examining the plaintiff’s foot, Mariea reportedly concluded that several small calluses were the “host site” where parasites entered her body, then scraped the calluses with a scalpel and cut below the skin “to get a big enough chunk to get an imprint.”

According to the complaint, the two-week program included:

Up to fifty daily “Clearings,” consisting of tapping on the patient’s spine and shining a red laser on the patient’s body while the patient holds various vials supposedly containing “toxic items.”

Daily Ionithermie treatments, involving the application of electronic stimulation, micronized algae and clay to the skin.

Daily two-hour sessions in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

Daily sessions of up to 1-1/2 hours in a far infrared sauna.

Cold laser therapy, involving the application of low-level laser light to various body parts.

Quantron Resonance Therapy, during which the patient reclines on a mat that generates a pulsating electromagnetic field.

Numerous coffee enemas.

Administration of homeopathic remedies.

Eyebrow waxings.

Numerous ionic foot baths.

Muscle tests, during which the practitioner applies force to a target muscle while the patient resists.

The complaint alleges that after one such muscle test, Mariea diagnosed the plaintiff with hepatitis C and Primary Biliary Cirrhosis — diagnoses proven inaccurate once the plaintiff consulted a licensed medical doctor.

Near the end of the detoxification session, the plaintiff’s brother traveled with a friend from Las Vegas to Nashville in order to assist her. Upon arriving at the clinic, they demanded that Mariea demonstrate the validity of her treatments and tests. Ionic foot baths failed the challenge; flakes appeared whether or not there were feet in the water. When Mariea was unsuccessful in performing a muscle test on the brother — during which he held a Bible that she tried to push down — Mariea explained that he was “blocked by God” due to his sexual orientation. Mariea was also unsuccessful in persuading the plaintiff to stay at the clinic for another week for approximately $1,000 per day.

The patient left with her brother, “emotionally distraught, physically worse, and in financially poorer condition than when she arrived.”

Walters v. Mariea seeks multiple damages, attorney’s fees and costs.

Tissue-Paper Titles & Dubious Degrees

Tamara Mariea advertises her services as an expert in the treatment of autism, which she attributes to the malign influence of electromagnetic radiation on children made vulnerable by “genetically determined detoxification capacity,” “contaminated vaccines,” “high levels of toxic burden,” and “ever increasing levels of radiation.” She also claims to have treated patients with brain injuries, Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, cancer, multiple chemical sensitivities, immune deficiency syndromes, and cerebral palsy. Since 2005, Mariea has lectured at the annual conference of Autism One, the 2005 conference of the Gateway Autism Society of America of St. Louis and the 2008 conference of the Lyme-Induced Autism Association.

Mariea identifies herself as a “Certified Clinical Nutritionist (CCN)” a credential awarded by the Clinical Nutrition Certification Board (CNCB). CNCB was established in 1990 by the International and American Associations of Clinical Nutrition (IAACN) and incorporated as a non-profit, tax exempt agency in 1994. According to CNCB, the CCN examination was developed to provide “certification for alternative or complementary medical, clinical nutrition and health care organizations” and “multi-disciplinary healthcare practitioners who wish to incorporate clinical nutrition into their practice.” (IAACN counts Doctor’s Data, Inc. among its corporate members.) CNCB grants certification to Bachelor’s degree holders who have successfully completed fifteen hours of undergraduate coursework in nutrition, a 56-hour correspondence course offered by the Board and a certification test, but requires no clinical experience or supervision. (In contrast, the American College of Nutrition’s Certification Board for Nutrition Specialists requires candidates to possess an advanced degree in nutrition, or 50 hours of continuing education plus 500-1000 hour post-graduate supervised field experience.) CNCB’s Chairman, James O. Henry, Jr., D.D.S., was Chairman of Professional Benefits Insurance Company, declared insolvent by the Texas Attorney General’s office in 1998. IAACN’s Vice-President of Education and co-signer of Mariea’s CCN certification, Frank O. McGehee, M.D., is a board-certified ophthalmologist who received his nutritionist credential from IAACN; he is proprietor of East Texas Weight Loss Center, offering chelation and the treatment of chronic illnesses. Dr. McGehee’s testimonial is prominently featured in advertising materials for the oral chelator Detoxamin.

In Spring of 2007, Mariea added to her list of credentials that of “Certified Electromagnetic Radiation Safety Advisor,” an honor awarded her by George L. Carlo, an epidemiologist and law school graduate with a long career in research management and public relations on behalf of various commercial entities. In 1988, as Chairman of George Carlo & Associates, Carlo conducted research for R.J. Reynolds on the effects of second-hand smoke. In 1989, as Chairman of the Carlo Institute for Public Health Policy, he recruited and trained academic scientists for tobacco research, and taught courses on “Media Relations” and “Effective Management of Research Funds.” In 1991, as Chairman of Health & Environmental Science Group, Carlo headed a pesticide industry task force to evaluate the relationship between pesticides and cancer.

Carlo’s involvement in the cellular telecommunications industry began in 1993, when the Health & Environmental Science Group appointed him Chairman of Wireless Technology Research (WTR), responsible for directing a six-year, $25 million epidemiological study sponsored by the Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA). Also during the mid-1990’s, in his capacity as Director of the Breast Implant Public Health Project, Carlo co-authored a study on the risks of breast implant rupture sponsored by Dow Corning.

By 1999, only three out of fifty studies sponsored by WTR had found signs of a possible link between cell phones and cancer. Contemporary reports indicate that as the WTR project drew to a conclusion, Carlo had sought to persuade CTIA to fund more research but was unsuccessful. Carlo resigned from the project in 1999 and took to the airwaves with news of the one study that purported to find an increased incidence of a form of brain cancer in cell-phone users. In June 2000, the FDA announced that CTIA had agreed to fund an additional $1 million worth of scientific studies, but by then, Carlo was no longer involved.

Carlo’s disaffection from the telecommunications industry was followed by an unsuccessful lawsuit against his former employer, and a cascade of newly-founded organizations and self-bestowed titles. In 1998 and 1999, he assumed the mantles of Chairman of the Science & Public Policy Institute, and Director of Health Risk Management Group, through which he marketed his new concerns about the dangers of EMR through advertising, public presentations, and sales of a “consumer self-protection manual,” Wireless Phones and Your Health. After the commencement of his association with BioPro Technology, Carlo added Director of the Safe Wireless Initiative and Founder of EMR University to his expanding list of titles. EMR University purports to provide “professional training” in the “risks and interventions related to electromagnetic radiation exposure.” “Certified Electromagnetic Radiation Safety Advisors” are few in number, and include both Tamara Mariea and Carlo himself.

Carlo earned his doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo and graduated from The George Washington University (GWU) law school. Although not a medical doctor, he often refers to himself as “Dr. Carlo” when writing and speaking on medical subjects. A 1991 biography identifies Carlo as an Adjunct Faculty member at GWU, and a committee roster published in 2000 refers to him as a full Professor; however, GWU personnel records from 1989-2008 indicate that he has never been a Professor or salaried employee at GWU. A 2003 events announcement from GWU School of Medicine refers to Carlo as an “assistant professorial lecturer of Medicine.”

On the current version of her website, Tamara Mariea also appends “Ph.D.” to her name; however, the doctoral degree is not mentioned on her online CV, and her website gives no hint of the discipline to which it might pertain, or the institution that might have awarded it.

Although Mariea asserts that her professional advice is “restricted to the correction of nutritional deficiencies, and is in no way intended to diagnose or treat a disease or medical disorder,” she simultaneously claims to “have the tools for immediate intervention for a child in need with any condition.” It is clear that in this self-protective vocabulary, “nutritional deficiencies” functions as a euphemism for diseases and disorders, and “intervention” as an alias for treatment of those medical conditions.

The Pyramid Builders

Tamara Mariea has described her “Multiple Therapeutic Modality Approach” as a combination of nutritional support, detoxification, far-infrared Sauna, the Quantron Resonance System, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), craniosacral therapy, and lymphatic drainage, and more recently, as the application of tools that purport to neutralize the influence of electromagnetic radiation.

Mariea’s website, launched in mid-2003, reveals a “toolbox” largely stocked with nutritional supplements, cosmetics. weight loss products, and devices from affiliate sales and multilevel marketing organizations — most notably organizations led by career direct-sales executive Ray W. Grimm, Jr. of Carlsbad, California.

From 1989 to 1999, Grimm served as President of Body Wise International, a nutritional supplement distributor, then left the company and spent several years as a consultant to the direct-sales industry. In 2002, Grimm co-founded FemOne with his wife Daran Grimm and Alfred Hanser, a fellow direct-marketer featured in infomercials for Channoine Creame de Beauté. FemOne markets the Channoine cosmetics line in the United States under license from Mr. Hanser; LeanCHOICES™ “superfoods” for weight loss; FemOne nutritional supplements for “hormonal balance” and “symptom relief;” and BioPro “EMR protection” products. (1)

In October 2003 — just prior to the unveiling of FemOne’s BioPro product line, which would eventually be touted as an autism “intervention” — Don Bauder of the San Diego Weekly Reader traced Grimm’s history in direct sales and reported on a remarkable series of maneuvers that culminated in FemOne’s transformation from a family enterprise to a publicly-traded company:

Then there’s San Diego’s hottest stock, FemOne of Carlsbad. It distributes nutrition, skin care, and cosmetics to women. For no apparent reason, its stock has zoomed from 15 cents early this month to around $1.45.

Instead of making a public offering for its stock, the company merged with a corporate shell that then changed its name to FemOne. The shell had planned to be a gold-prospecting company. It had no revenues, and its only employee, its chief executive — a longtime diddler in mining stocks listed on the raucous Vancouver Stock Exchange — only spent one-tenth of his time at the company. He had received his shares for one-tenth of a penny each. (2)

In August, the company abandoned its gold-mining ambitions — if there had ever been any — and permitted FemOne’s honchos, mainly Rancho Santa Fe’s Raymond W. Grimm Jr., to gain control and thus get a public market for the stock without having to bare its soul in a prospectus.

There would have been much to tell. Grimm had been a co-founder of USA Inc., which promoted purported health products through athlete pitchmen such as Steve Garvey and Joe Montana. But the Food and Drug Administration charged the products were unapproved and misbranded. USA folded and Grimm moved to a Carlsbad company, Uni-Vite, a peddler of diet food.

Uni-Vite went public by back-dooring into a Nevada shell, also purportedly in mining. But the company ran afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers. Grimm became president of Carlsbad’s Body Wise International. Then the Federal Trade Commission charged that Body Wise made deceitful weight-loss and cholesterol-reducing claims. In 1995, the company promised it would sin no more.

In 1999, Grimm moved on from Body Wise and, with his wife and two daughters, set up FemOne. Like USA and Uni-Vite, it sells its products through so-called direct or network marketing, also called multilevel marketing, and most accurately, pyramid marketing.

Grimm, who did not return phone calls, and a colleague paid a mere $279,350 for five million shares of stock in the gold-mining company. After the name change, FemOne stock surged, as Uni-Vite’s had before crashing. It is hard to fathom FemOne’s upswoosh. The company’s liabilities are almost double its assets, and it has an accumulated deficit of almost a million dollars. The accountant questions the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

But that’s the kind of stock that catches on these days. I’ve got a song for such crapshoot stocks: “Take Me Out of the Ballgame.”

The October 2003 “upswoosh” in FemOne’s stock prices is less difficult to fathom in retrospect; news of the merger, 6:1 stock split and newly available shares in the heretofore privately-held company would no doubt have percolated through Grimm’s existing network of “independent consultants” and local investors (especially novices lacking Bauder’s expertise) with rumors of new additions to the company’s product line adding to the excitement. The buzz around FemOne stock is memorialized by a memo from the National Association of Securities Dealers intended to clarify confusion that had arisen regarding the changes. That month, the price of FemOne stock skyrocketed from $.15/share to a high of $1.70/share, creating a windfall for sellers; prices would level off to around $.50/share by the end of the year.

In February 2004, Grimm and Hanser established BioPro Technology as a subsidiary of FemOne. A flurry of market activity accompanied the announcement of the new division, with the price of FemOne stock rising as high as $1.55/share. By 2005, BioPro would account for 70% of the company’s net sales.

In June 2006, FemOne’s name was changed again, this time to Actis Global Ventures (AGLV). The company’s accountants continue to express reservations about the company’s viability. Actis is now categorized as a high-risk, delisted “pink sheet” stock; shares now trade for a fraction of a penny apiece — no doubt disappointing to those eager investors who purchased “San Diego’s hottest stock” at premium prices, confident of great things to come.

What’s in the Box?

BioPro’s devices incorporate an epoxy polymer developed by and under license from inventor Igor Smirnov, described in U.S. Patent #6369399: Electromagnetic radiation shielding material and device, issued in April 2002. The patent claims without substantiation that the polymer and devices made from it,

when worn, carried or otherwise kept in proximity to persons, animals and even plants, serve to lessen adverse health effects caused by EMR from power lines, computers, mobile telephones, microwave ovens, televisions and numerous other electrical and electronic devices.

Smirnov claims without substantiation that such material is desirable because:

adverse human health effects which have been reported as attributable to long-term EMR exposure include occurrence of certain cancers, multiple sclerosis and autism.

Smirnov’s polymer incorporates:

• an oxydated hydrocarbon emulsifier, preferably ethylene glycol monobutyl ether or its acetate salt;
• a galvanic salt, preferably dibasic sodium phosphate;
• an alkaloid, preferably atropine or its derivatives;
• a dye or stain, preferably rose bengal; and
• a polysaccharide, preferably derived from algae.

Devices made from the polymer may be solid, fibrous, powdered or woven fabrics.

Both BioPro and Smirnov’s company Global Quantech, Inc. manufacture and market products based on this polymer patent and on U.S. Patent #6022479: Method and device for producing activated liquids and methods of use thereof. Patent #6022479 describes a process whereby water is “activated” by simultaneous exposure to electromagnetic fields and light in specified wavelengths and frequencies. The water is irradiated in a specially-designed reservoir containing a column constructed of a polymer impregnated with metals, minerals, boric acid, and analgesics such as acetaminophen. The process purports to reduce water pH, hardness and bacteria; “activated water” is said to enhance the setting time and compressive strength of concrete, and the growth rate and viability of plants. It is further claimed that ingestion of “activated water” has been beneficial in the treatment of viral infections, cancer, dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea.

In a 2006 article in Explore! magazine, Smirnov added headaches, sleep disruption, short term memory impairment, and increases in the frequency of epileptic seizures to the list of ills supposedly caused by EMR and supposedly preventable by means of his technology, but offered no references to support his claims. BioPro literature contends that its “activated water” system “imprints a vital subtle energy signature into the water,” improves cellular function and the circulatory system, inhibits bacterial and fungal growth, and stimulates collagen production.

The Scientific Cheerleading Squad

New products marketed with claims of a scientific basis and health benefits require not only aggressive promotion and anecdotal evidence to fuel short-term sales, but also substantive scientific evidence of efficacy to ensure their long-term commercial viability; accordingly, BioPro has made a concerted effort to generate a public impression of scientific validation for its “EMR protection” line. In mid-2006, Grimm and Hanser announced that BioPro had “formed a strategic alliance with The Safe Wireless Initiative (SWI)” — a brand-new, one-man “organization” consisting of George Carlo — to “raise public awareness about dangers associated with RF radiation and helpful intervention products and programs.” The fuel for the “strategic alliance” is implied in Actis Global Ventures’ financial statements for that period, which describe a consulting agreement under which an unnamed consultant “was granted 2,000,000 restricted shares of common stock and will be entitled to receive up to 8,000,000 warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s stock… initially for one year.”

Carlo emerged as one of BioPro’s most public advocates, establishing a website for the new SWI “organization,” offering presentations on the alleged effects of EMR on the body at BioPro distributor conferences and public information sessions, and advocating for a “BIOPROvention Program” — a “Public Health Intervention Program” the goal of which was “to have everyone using all available intervention product packages” to address “the EMF exposure problem.” In November 2006, the Research Institute for Applied Bioenergetics went online, featuring a library of papers from various journals that purport to confirm the dangers of cell phones; the domain was registered anonymously, and the site does not name anyone responsible for its content. One month later, George Carlo debuted as Editor-in-Chief of the “International Journal of Clinical Bioenergetics,” for the publication of research on “the efficacy of energy-based technologies.” A single paper refers to the journal: the authors of Energy Resonance Technology (ERT): A Targeted Intervention For Electro-Magnetic Radiation (EMR) Induced Biological Effects, sponsored by BioPro, co-authored by Alfred Hanser, and “submitted for publication” in the new journal. That journal now appears to be moribund; no changes have been made to the site since its inception.

While George Carlo established himself as BioPro’s most visible scientific supporter, Tamara Mariea became a vocal proponent of of “electromagnetic detoxification” through “complete intervention” with BioPro products, and of the idea that autism is caused by EMR and radio frequencies.

Mariea’s association with Ray Grimm, Jr. dates back at least to 2003. An event announcement from that year identifies her as a member of the “Body Wise Scientific Advisory Board;” in 2003 she also began to advertise her services as an “Independent Business Associate” of FemOne. The link to Mariea’s Body Wise distributor page disappeared from the Internal Balance website in mid-2004, shortly before the FTC assessed over $3.5 million in fines against the company for deceptive advertising in violation of its 1995 order.

Mariea “got in on the ground floor” with Grimm’s fledgling BioPro venture in the spring of 2004, promptly placing a link from her website to her BioPro distributor page. She removed the link shortly thereafter, and with her husband, Jude Mariea, filed for bankruptcy that June.

In early 2006, BioPro’s website began to include references to autism as a possible consequence of EMR. By that time, Mariea had thoroughly incorporated BioPro products into her practice, to the extent of setting up a “ground neutral studio” for detoxification sessions. An attendee at the 2006 conference of BioPro distributors recalled Mariea’s insistence that her patients not only undergo extensive “detoxification” at her clinic, but also purchase BioPro products for home use:

Cell Chips on cell phones [each $34.95], Universal Chips on all electronic and wireless devices in the child’s environment [two for $83.00], a Biolife Pendant for the child, the mother, and often the other members of the family [each $269.00], and Home Harmonizers throughout the child’s environment [each $199.50]. She also adds Vitatonic to the child’s nutritional plan [750 ml. $56.50]. [prices added]

Given the cost of implementing such a home-based regimen in addition to consultations, clinic services and consumable “nutritional interventions,” it is understandable that patients would be tempted to enlist as BioPro distributors in order to enjoy product discounts and, hopefully, recoup money already spent. One family promoting BioPro products has indicated that they began participating in the MLM scheme after Mariea began treating their autistic son. As “members” on the Internal Balance, Inc. “downline,” a percentage of each of their sales is paid to Tamara Mariea.

The Clinical Protection Racket

In the Spring of 2007, Tamara Mariea issued a press release announcing the findings of a new study linking autism to “electromagnetic radiation stress” — the culmination, she asserted, of her “years of clinical research” and collaboration with George Carlo. A subsequent bulletin heralded the publication of Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and Treatment of Autism: Clinical Observations and Mechanisms in the August 2007 issue of the Journal of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM). Founded by Queensland medical herbalist Dr. Gary Deed to provide training in chelation techniques, ACNEM serves as Australia’s counterpart to the IAACN. (3)

Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and Treatment of Autism purports to “assess mechanistically the role of wireless-device associated EMR in the etiology and treatment of autism” through a review of the records of 21 autistic children who had been subjected to various “detoxification interventions including energetic nutrition.” Carlo and Mariea proceed from the assumption that autism is caused by mercury toxicity, speculate that EMR might inhibit the excretion of mercury from the body, then interpret all study data as if that were indeed the case. The “intervention protocol” includes urine, fecal and hair metals tests from unspecified laboratories, undescribed acupuncture meridian tests and tests purporting to determine “liver clearance” problems or “kidney function weakness.” Without a single mention of BioPro Technology or the source of funding for the study, the paper describes an “EMR-free clinical environment” necessitating purchase and installment of nearly the entire BioPro product line — not only by Mariea in the course of setting up her clinic, but also by the parents of patients, for “further protection” of their children:

The EMR-free clinical environment was constructed by eliminating all wireless communication devices from the building, requiring that cell phones be turned off on the premises, and installing various EMR filters to electrical circuits and appliances in the clinic. Applications of body worn sympathetic resonance technology, energy resonance rechnology and molecular resonance effect technology were introduced as appropriate. The premises were tested with appropriate EMR detection devices including gauss meters and radio frequency radiation detection equipment to ensure that the clinic was indeed EMR-free. Further EMR protection was recommended to each subject’s parents so that the home environment was also without EMR interference.

Mariea describes the first child treated by her in this fashion, designated the “sentinel indicator” — a nine-year-old autistic boy who over the previous six years had undergone chelation, antiviral therapy and far-infrared sauna sessions, and had been administered secretin and intravenous immune globulin for his autism. Still significantly developmentally delayed, the parents brought him to the Internal Balance clinic. After several months of taking nutritional supplements (presumably obtained from Mariea), the boy was brought to the clinic for “an onsite, intensive detoxification regimen,” whereupon he was “classified as both a kidney and liver focused subject,” and “treated with two 40-session intervention cycles that included the EMR-free environment.”

That is, the boy endured eighty sessions of many of the “interventions” described in Walters v. Mariea.

What Mariea’s “regimen” entailed, however, is not specified in the paper, save for mention of “a series of non-chelation provocations and nutritional formularies.” The meaning of “non-chelation provocations” is sufficiently vague to encompass any procedure alleged to provoke the excretion of “toxins” from the body, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, sauna sessions and ionic foot baths. The authors also fail to specify the source and contents of Mariea’s “nutritional formularies” or the manner in which they were administered.

Oddly for a journal published by a college, footnotes in the text are not accompanied by bibliographic references at the end of the article; rather, the reader is welcomed to request the references directly from the journal. The references are not made available on the journal’s website; it is therefore necessary for the reader to provide personal contact information to the editor and, by extension, the authors, in order to verify sources.

The article ends with the disclaimer:

“It is important to note that the clinic where this work was completed is not a medical facility and the interventions used are intended to evaluate whether removal of metals would improve the child’s life and provide hope for the families involved. All parents signed consent forms understanding that these protocols were not intended to treat a medical condition but to improve the wellness and livelihoods of their children.”

No mention is made in the paper of the source of research funding — that is, the parents of patients, to whom Mariea’s “interventions” were sold at inflated prices in spite of the absence of any credible, peer-reviewed scientific confirmation of their efficacy in the treatment of autism, the “removal of metals” or the improvement of their children’s “wellness and livelihoods.” No mention is made of the parents’ expenditures, Mariea’s profits or Carlo’s compensation from the manufacturer of the products that the “study” purports to evaluate. No mention is made whether parents consented after the fact to the use of their children’s records in a retrospective study. Mariea’s reference to “livelihoods” suggests that parents of patients were encouraged to become “members” of BioPro, in order to improve a family financial situation made more difficult by their efforts to purchase all of the “interventions” recommended for their children — efforts which had the hidden benefit of building Mariea’s downline.

Neurologist Dr. Steven Novella of Yale University described Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and Treatment of Autism as:

…a mishmash of pseudoscientific nonsense. …The fact that the study was not blinded or controlled in any way completely invalidates the results, especially since the study authors used multiple dubious and pseudoscientific methods in the study. Also, they first looked for a trend in their “sentinel case” and then assumed that whatever trend they observed indicated the outcome they desired. So in essence they peeked at the results first, and then declared those results a positive outcome. They did not compare the outcome to non-autistic subjects, or to subjects not in an EMR free environment. We have no idea that the trend (assuming it is real, which is not an assumption earned by the study authors) means anything. Yet the authors conclude from this trend that: heavy metal poisoning causes autism, treating heavy metal poisoning helps autism, EMR interferes with the clearance of heavy metals, and unicorns fart rainbows (OK, I made up that last one).

What we are witnessing is a high level of pseudoscience – all the trapping and jargon of real science; they are going through the motions and reporting their results with a straight face. But it is all utter nonsense — a house of cards with speculation piled on top of fantasy built on top of pseudoscience.

The Prosperity Game

In mid-2006, Tamara Mariea commissioned the firm Websults to redesign her website and thereby support the continued growth of her business enterprise. Work on an improved online presence for Internal Balance, Inc. was accompanied by development of a “free non-profit informational website” touting the supposed dangers to children of electromagnetic radiation and cellular phone frequencies. The domain YourKidsCellPhone.com was registered in December 2006; the site debuted eight months later. Billed as a “children’s advocacy website,” “Your Kids’ Cell Phone” includes links to press releases and articles by Mariea and Carlo, and news reports about cellular telephone usage; references to autism appear throughout the site. An “About Us” page discusses the site’s creation by a “team of professionals” consisting of “some of the most forward thinking and cutting edge scientists, researchers and health practitioners,” moved by concern for “a new threat, electromagnetic radiation, the invisible power behind cell phones and wireless technologies.” The only member of the “team” who is named is Tamara Mariea. Assuring readers that “[t]his is not about financial gain for us,” the “team” decries the corrupting influence of the telecommunications industry on research into the effects of cellular telephone frequencies, hails the work of “excellent researchers diligently working without an agenda to provide balanced data and information.” A “Products” page links to Mariea’s BioPro distribution site.

On the revamped Internal Balance website, a newly-expanded biography of Mariea “credits her gift of helping others to her Christian faith.” Over time, Mariea would increasingly deploy references to her religion as a marketing tool. A promotional piece appearing in the Nashville-area vanity tabloid Who’s Who Magazine announces the divinely-ordained nature of her healing vocation with quotes from the Bible and proclamations of her love for Jesus, declares her expertise in “identifying burdens in the Autistic child,” and extols her “uncanny ability to determine each patient’s needs in order to completely detoxify from chemical, and then from the physiological damage.”

An attendee at the May 2006 Autism One conference responded to Mariea’s pious sales pitch with skepticism.

Hi – Just got back from the Autism One conference. Did anyone hear Tamara speak? …She appears to be almost too good to be true.
She was part of a workshop I went to, along with some other clinicians and scientists, so I heard her speak a bit about what she does. Frankly I thought she was a flake. A lot of talk about God, foot baths, and cell phones. (No offense to any believers, but if a scientist tells me they base their work on faith, I am walking away.) Later on I was talking to a woman who took her child to Tamara’s treatment center, and she reported lots of money spent and no improvement.
(Autism-Mercury, May 31, 2006)

When asked for an opinion on Nashville’s divinely-inspired “autism expert,” another parent bluntly advised the questioner:

TURN AND RUN THE OTHER WAY!
…I know about 6 or so individuals who used to see her for their kids. All spent EXHUBERANT [sic] amounts of money. None were very impressed.
(ChelatingKids2, June 3, 2008)

Mariea continues to create new opportunities for patients to spend exorbitant amounts of money at the Internal Balance clinic. In late 2007, she introduced into her therapeutic repertoire VibroNutrients — a custom-made, trademarked, proprietary brew created from unspecified ingredients chosen from a “special formulary,” then “imprinted” with the patient’s “unique energetic signature.” The middleman-free, ingredients-list-free concoction is priced at $150 per 2 oz. bottle (plus an additional $25 “initial evaluation fee” and overnight delivery charges). A similarly-priced “Gray Hair Detox Cocktail” is offered to customers desiring “not only a youthful appearance but a healthy toxin free body.” A new page on Mariea’s website encourages women to “detoxify” prior to conceiving, lest they “pass[] their accumulated toxic burden to their babies while pregnant.”

Mariea’s enthusiasm for BioPro appears to be no longer shared by her co-author. In April 2008, George Carlo published a message denouncing “what Biopro does in their business” and “the misleading portrayals of their products;” two months later, he issued a “Medical Alert” warning consumers of “aggravated symptom relapses” after the use of widely available EMR protection products.” Reports of symptoms and their relapse are unverifiable, and Carlo’s insistence that BioPro principals misled him about their efficacy of their products lacks credibility. The deterioration of the relationship followed the one-year anniversary of BioPro’s 2006 stock-option agreement with its unnamed consultant; according to the company’s quarterly report filed November 19, 2007, the agreement was not renewed. Nonetheless, the “Medical Alert” reveals, at the very least, one man’s consistent personal style in dealing with soured professional relationships, and a significant shift in business alliances for BioPro’s leading scientific pitchman and co-author of a paper promoting EMR protection products as an “intervention” for disabled children.

Although no longer associated with BioPro, Carlo continues to function as a publicist for distributors of “EMR protection” devices. During a two-hour interview broadcast on Air America in May 2008, Carlo promoted the RF3 Headset from UB Concepts, which claims that their product “prevents 99.9% of RF energy from reaching your head” during cell phone use. http://www.buyrf3now.com (a domain privately registered by a firm catering to fly-by-night mail-order electronics and clothing retailers) provides no information about the basis for this claim; the distributor’s toll-free contact number does not trace to a manufacturing firm, but to the California Association of Business Brokers. Little technical information is available about the “RF3 Headset” for those who might wish to verify its manufacturer’s claims before adding one to their Yahoo! shopping cart.

Igor Smirnov’s inventions are the subject of the pending lawsuit, Backman v. Smirnov (Case 1:08-CV-11148-RGS, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts), filed by marketing consultant Irving A. Backman in August 2008. The complaint alleges that Smirnov misrepresented the health benefits of water treated with his technology, the feasibility of building commercial activation units, his intention to assist Backman in his efforts to obtain scientific validation of “water activation” technology through rigorous studies conducted by creditable academic institutions, and his intention to produce the results of clinical studies he cited in support of his claims. According to the complaint, Smirnov had allegedly stated that “activated water” had “significant therapeutic benefits to those suffering from serious illness,” including Alzheimer’s Disease, psoriasis, cancer, viral infections, inflammation, neurological disorders, diabetes, and AIDS. Smirnov’s counterclaim reveals that he sought to terminate the relationship after learning that data gathered and analyzed by University of Toronto scientist Dr. Paul Fraser demonstrated that “activated water” had no significant effect on test animals. A motion by Smirnov to dismiss certain charges was dismissed in November 2008.

The End of the Downline

In her online biography, Tamara Mariea cites the tragic death of a friend from leukemia and her own debilitating reaction to lawn-care products in 2002 as inspirations fueling her transition from employment in hazardous waste management and cleanup to a lucrative career in “personalized wellness care.” Additionally, she candidly acknowledges another compelling incentive:

…the potential for growth in the $1 trillion dollar health and wellness industry…

The consumer sector of the “$1 trillion dollar health and wellness industry” certainly includes wealthy entertainers, highly-paid athletes and curious self-experimenters benignly indulging their well-heeled curiosity by dabbling in novel means to achieve a sense of “internal balance.” It is populated in greater number, however, by people such as the plaintiff in Walters v. Mariea and others challenged by chronic illnesses and disabilities, who are often constrained by limited funds, who seek relief from legitimate worries about their health, and who are burdened by reasonable fears for their own or their family members’ well-being and survival. It is populated by innocent children and cognitively-disabled adults ill-equipped to understand the rationale or function of the “treatments” administered at the behest of well-meaning caretakers.

And it is populated by hawkers of magical gadgets and miracle cures; pseudo-doctors flashing cheap credentials, unverifiable assertions of expertise and claims of God-given insight; counterfeit professionals who induce people in need to enter into “helping” relationships through self-promotion and manipulative interactions, then exploit their trust and vulnerability for personal enrichment and ego gratification; and stealth shakedown artists who induce in their targets the fear of imminent bodily harm, then pressure them into buying “protection” at extortionate prices.

BioPro training materials encourage distributors to “give [prospects] the knowledge and the vision they need to make the decision for their protection and your partnership” — i.e., to convince potential recruits of the existence of an invisible, pervasive, heretofore-unimagined menace; to persuade them that BioPro products will shield them from it; to close in on the sale; and to draw them into further involvement with offers of product discounts to those who pay for “membership” along with their initial purchase. Detailed guidelines set forth the extraordinary number of BioPro products supposedly required to achieve “adequate protection” throughout the home; even more elaborate charts of BioPro’s compensation structure create the illusion of a potentially bottomless pit of passive income to those convinced of the reality of the hidden threat and willing to broadcast it.

“The Opportunity of a Lifetime” is promoted with glimpses of the self-indulgent lifestyle enjoyed by those at the top of the pyramid. Ray Grimm, Jr.‘s extensive collection of luxury cars is both a subject of note on California’s South Coast social scene and an object of wonder and envy at gatherings of BioPro’s “independent consultants.” Winners of company-sponsored competitions are rewarded with a spin in the showpiece du jour — an experience undoubtedly beyond the reach of most of the disabled or chronically ill individuals and their families who are persuaded to contribute to BioPro’s income stream, including those who become BioPro distributors.

Visitors to the BioPro website are greeted with the question “Who wants to be a millionaire?” and the promise that the first Independent Consultant who earns $1,000,000 in commissions in one calendar year will be awarded a seat on Virgin Galactic’s first commercial space flight. (Virgin’s founder, Richard Branson, has proclaimed his belief in the dangers of cell phones.) Additionally, the winner is promised an all-expenses-paid shopping trip around the world, with first-class flights, five-star accommodations, a personal chauffeur, and “tens of thousands of dollars in spending cash.”

If that prize is ever awarded, the recipient may relish the knowledge that his or her good fortune was made possible, in part, by the hope, trust and financial outlays of Tamara Mariea’s patients and their parents. If it is not, Ray Grimm, Jr. may still end up with enough money in the bank to buy himself another Lamborghini.


Resources

Lawsuit

Complaint, Walters v. Mariea (Case #08785)
(Williamson County Circuit Court, filed December 17, 2008)

Woman Claims Quack Put Her Through Hell
(Liz Potocsnak, Courthouse News Service, December 31, 2008)

By Tamara Mariea

Internal Balance, Inc.
(Business website, 2003-current)

Internal Balance, Inc.
(Previous versions of website; Internet Archive Wayback Machine, 2003-current)

Research on Correlation Between Autism, Cell Phones, and Wireless Computers by Tamara Mariea
(Tamara Mariea, press release, Business Wire, April 16, 2007)

Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and Treatment of Autism: Clinical Observations and Mechanisms
(George Carlo and Tamara Mariea, Journal of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, August 2007)

Audio Interviews: Tamara Mariea Discussing Children’s Neurological Disorders; Tamara Mariea Speaking about Autism
(Promethea Sales Multi-Level Marketing Support, December 2007)

BioPro Technology

New Paltz Capital Corporation (NPCZ; 11/13/2001-10/15/2003)
FemOne, Inc. (FEMO; 10/23/2003-5/23/2006)
Actis Global Ventures (AGLV; 07/10/2006-current)

Actis Global Ventures (AGLV)
(U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filings)

Actis Global Ventures (formerly FemOne)
(Company website, copyright 2006; last updated November 2006)

BioPro Technology
(Company website)

BioPro Technology
(Previous versions of website; Internet Archive Wayback Machine, 2004-current)

Igor Smirnov/Global QuanTech

Global QuanTech
(Company site)

Global QuanTech
(Previous versions of website; Internet Archive Wayback Machine, 2004-current)

U.S. Patent #6369399: Electromagnetic radiation shielding material and device
(Igor Smirnov, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, published April 9, 2002)

U.S. Patent #6022479: Method and device for producing activated liquids and methods of use thereof
(Igor Smirnov, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, published February 8, 2000)

Method, Material and Device Providing Electromagnetic Compatibility Between Technologically Originated EMR and Biological Systems
(Igor Smirnov in Electromagnetic Fields, Research, Health
Effects, and Standards Harmonization, Asia-Pacific EMF Conference, January 26-30, 2004, Bangkok, Thailand)

Comparative Study of the Effect of Microwave Radiation Neutralizers on Physiological State of Human Subjects
(Igor Smirnov, Global QuanTech, 2005)

Polymer Material Providing Compatibility Between Technologically Originated EMR and Biological Systems
(Igor Smirnov, Explore! Volume 15, Number 4, 2006)

MRET-Shield Synopsis of Scientific Research
(Igor Smirnov, Global QuanTech, updated June 1, 2007)

Discussion of EMF-Autism Hypothesis

Cell Phones and Electromagnetic Radiation Correlated to Autism — and that’s all
(Kristina Chew, AutismVox, April 16, 2007)

Electrosensitivity: Caused by Wi-Fi and Mobiles?
(The Quackometer, April 27, 2007)

Wi-Fi, Quackery and the MPs
(The Quackometer, May 21, 2007)

Autism: If You Can’t Blame MMR, Let’s Try Wi-Fi
(The Quackometer, July 10, 2007)

Electrosensitives: the new cash cow of the woo industry
(Ben Goldacre, Bad Science, June 2, 2007)

Dr George Carlo responds to Andrew Goldacre
(Bad Science, June 8, 2007)

Wireless Technology and Autism
(Dr. Steven Novella, Neurologica Blog, November 23, 2007

WiFi and autism: a quick debunking
(John Timmer, ars technica, November 23, 2007)

Study Linking Wi-Fi and Autism Debunked
(School Library Journal, December 4, 2007)

Criticism of BioPro

BioPro Technology Is A Scam
(Anonymous; last updated December 16, 2008)

BIOPRO Home Harmonizer Hoax: What’s inside it
(Scambuster, March 23, 2008)

BioPro’s Fabricated Science Fiction
(Alasdair Philips, Powerwatch, April 4, 2008)

I Got Scammed By BioPro
(Anonymous, June 29, 2008)

BioPro News Blog
(Anonymous; last updated October 24, 2008)

BioPro Scam
(Anonymous; last updated April 20, 2006; last comment on contentious discussion thread posted January 2, 2009)

Investigation of BioPro principals’ local lobbying and marketing efforts in Rancho Santa Fe, California
(Richard Russell, no date)

Electromagnetic and radio frequencies and human health

Biological Effects of Microwaves and Mobile Telephony
(K. Sri Nageswari, Proceedings of the International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation, October 2003)

Electromagnetic fields and public health: Intermediate Frequencies
(World Health Organization Information Sheet, February 2005)

Electromagnetic fields and public health: Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity
(World Health Organization Fact Sheet 296, December 2005)

Electromagnetic fields and public health: Static electric and magnetic fields
(World Health Organization Fact Sheet 299, March 2006)

Electromagnetic fields and public health: Base stations and wireless networks
(World Health Organization Fact Sheet 304, May 2006)

Electromagnetic fields and public health: Exposure to extremely low frequency fields
(World Health Organization Fact Sheet 322, June 2007)

Radio Frequency Safety: Information On Human Exposure To Radiofrequency Fields From Cellular and PCS Radio Transmitters
(Federal Communications Commission, December 2008)

Cell Phones
(U.S. Food & Drug Administration Center for Devices & Radiological Health, last updated October 14, 2008)

Nutritionist and dietician certification

Intersociety Professional Nutrition Education Consortium

Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education, American Dietetic Association

What Is the Difference Between Dietician and Nutritionist?
(Kathy Shattler, February 26, 2008)

Multi-Level Marketing

Federal Trade Commission: 16 CFR Part 37: Business Opportunity Rule; Proposed Rule (.pdf format) (.txt format)
(Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 59, Wednesday, March 26, 2008)

MLM Watch: The Skeptical Guide to Multilevel Marketing
(Stephen Barrett, MD)

Footnotes

(1) Grimm is also a principal of China Stationery & Office Supply (formerly known as Dickie Walker Marine and still doing business under that name), a publicly-traded company engaged in clothing manufacture, import and sales; co-founder of Orenda International, a direct-marketer of weight loss and anti-aging products with which he is no longer affiliated; BlueWave Innovations, a direct-sales company targeting college students as both customers and salespeople; and an investor in Diomed Holdings, manufacturer of laser devices for the treatment of varicose veins and cancer (recently declared bankrupt and acquired by a competitor after costly patent litigation). Grimm and Hanser are both investors in Single Touch Systems, Inc., developer of an “Abbreviated Dial Code” program for downloading content to mobile phones.

(2) New Paltz Capital Corporation principal William J. Asselstine engaged in a similar transaction the following year, when he sold a controlling interest in another shell corporation to the principal of an oil and gas exploration company with no assets, then resigned and disposed of shares received in the exchange.

(3) The press release for the paper originally misstated the title of the journal as the Australasian Journal of Clinical Environmental Medicine, an error that inspired some confusion and amusement in the scientific blogosphere.

Comments


  1. Kathleen, you’re thorough.

    — _Arthur    2009-01-12 14:33    #

  2. Ok, what are the supposed health benefits of eyebrow waxing? Up to that point the whole thing seemed reasonable to me. Now I am not so sure :-))

    — Mike Stanton    2009-01-12 14:35    #

  3. Beats me; perhaps the idea is that the more open pores you have near your brain, the better the chance of absorbing the mandrake-gas oozing out of Smirnov’s magic polymer. ;-) But seriously — can you believe that the stuff contains atropine???

    — Kathleen Seidel    2009-01-12 14:43    #

  4. I saw an ionic foot bath vendor at Autism One in Chicago last Spring. The jokes just write themselves.

    — ANB    2009-01-12 15:03    #

  5. Oh sorry… I read the title and just wanted to yell out… “ME!”

    ;)

    — Estee Klar    2009-01-12 16:05    #

  6. Great work, Kathleen.
    I think it’s Ben Goldacre, though.
    (For some reason I hear Michelle Dawson’s voice echoing “him again!”…)

    — Phil Schwarz    2009-01-12 23:49    #

  7. It is Ben. Carlo got his name wrong. Goldacre’s reaction: “I do hope the rest of Carlo’s work [coughs] doesn’t reveal a similarly slapdash approach to accuracy.”

    — Kathleen Seidel    2009-01-13 07:22    #

  8. I’m sorry, I’m going to have to come back and read the rest of this later. I’m laughing too hard at the eyebrow waxing to concentrate.

    — isles    2009-01-13 12:52    #

  9. Thanks for another fascinating post, Kathleen.

    According to the study that won the 2008 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine – Ariely, Waber, Shiv & Carmon, Commercial Features of Placebo and Therapeutic Efficacy – high-priced fake medicine is more effective than low-priced fake medicine. Maybe Tamara Mariea could use that as a defense.

    Seriously, though, I think that health care providers should answer for duping patients and their families. Caveat emptor or not, people have to be able to rely on doctors to act ethically in practicing their profession.

    — Anne    2009-01-14 16:50    #

  10. You lost me at the eyebrow waxing :0) The tears make it impossible to read right now.

    — storkdok    2009-02-18 16:33    #

  11. Excellent reporting, well done. You have a great talent not just for investigating, but also for laying out the information. This is the most effective and clinical demolishing of Mariea, Carlo, and Smirnov ever published. Bravo!

    — Richard Russell    2009-05-07 21:39    #