California Man Pleads Guilty to Lyme Disease Fraud

September 25th, 2010 - 12:55 am ICT by Angela Kaye Mason  

Sep 24 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A man from Southern California had pleaded guilty to fraud after devising a fake way to diagnose and treat the life threatening tick bourne illness known as Lyme disease.

He perpetrated his crimes in the state of Kansas, where he set up a fake company which sold a microscope which was supposed to diagnose Lyme disease. After his co conspirators would claim the “patient” had the disease, they would offer their own drug treatment plan which was supposed to cure the disease. There is no cure for advanced Lyme disease, although treatment will help with the symptoms.

The Unites State’s Attorney’s office stated that the 79 year old Robert W Bradford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and introducing misbranded drugs into commerce. Three co conspirators await trial.

The prosecutors in the case are asking that the defendant be sentenced to a year in home confinement, and five year’s of probation. They also want him to have to pay back $40,000 in restitution and another $400,000 which he earned with the scheme. This would seem to be light sentencing,since one Kansas resident died from the so-called treatment and another suffered renal failure. He will be sentenced on Dec 14.

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