The large ad has run several times in the Star Tribune, and I tried to let it slide. I really did.
But today it finally got to me and I had to post it here and look into it just a bit.
The ad offers a free dinner event for type II diabetics, promising to tell you about "Stunning Research" that suggests you can reverse the disease in "As Little as 1 WEEK." It's free, and includes a gourmet meal (a thick steak is shown in a photo). You can even bring a friend.
It's sponsored by something called Integrated Health: Finding Solutions to Change Lives, and includes the name Dr. Brad Watts, Doctor of Chiropractic after that.
Based on my earlier examination of a chiropractor who promised a magic-seeming cure for diabetes, and knowing that the disease is a real thing that can't be cured with wishful thinking, I suspected this offer of a free seminar for a one-week cure.
Well, it turns out that not only are the ad's vague claims suspicious as they try to appeal to sick people's wishful thinking, but the chiropractor behind it all has a history of past bad action.
I found this news story from Colorado about a chiropractor named Brad Watts who was investigated, along with others in his practice, in 2011.
According to the CALL7 investigation,
Nearly all the chiropractors have left a private practice after a year-long investigation by the CALL7 Investigators brought to light videos of the owner selling his business model to other chiropractors and showing how he cashing is in on his patients.The story goes on to say that Brad and Kristin Watts, part of the Credeur's practice, have moved to Minnesota.
The CALL7 Investigators received more than 200 calls and emails from people who said Brandon and Heather Credeur's claims of curing diabetes and thyroid disorders are misleading.
Dozens of current and former patients and their families filled the 7NEWS studio saying they took out thousands of dollars in loans and paid cash up front.
"He took all my money. I felt worse than I have in years," said one former patient.
Clearly, Brad Watts has moved his practice and his rip-off business model to Minnesota. I'll be contacting the Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners to report him, based on this earlier case in Colorado and these ads he's been running. Anyone else who cares is welcome to email also (micki.king [at] state.mn.us).
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Oddly enough, the chiropractor and wife in this case have the first names Brad and Kristin... which are the same first names of the chiropractor and wife in the other rip-off offer I've described in the past. Both couples even have last names beginning with W. I'm pretty sure the earlier couple, the Wildbergs, are from Wisconsin, though, so unless they lived for a few years in Colorado under a different last name, it's probably just a coincidence.
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Update: Well, digging a little more, I found that the address for Brad Watts's Integrated Health practice is the same address as Brad Wildberg's -- 7250 France Avenue in Edina. In the same suite -- 300. So I guess these are the same people, and Brad must have run out to Colorado for a few years between his Michigan law suit and his Minnesota bankruptcy filings (as described in my earlier post).
1 comment:
Good grief! This guy's office is in the same building as two of my doctors' offices! Thanks for posting this. I had not seen this ad, or if I did, I had dismissed it because I don't have Type 2 Diabetes. Having said that, true chiropractic methods can have a beneficial effect on the body when performed by a trained, competent chiropractor. At my Crohn's support group, we invited a chiropractor to speak to us about how he helps patients with abdominal disease, and it was really interesting. He described the connections and interactions between the nervous system and GI tract, examples of treatments and how they affect the GI tract, and then how he supported also a healthful diet and low-stress lifestyle. (Don't we all want a low-stress lifestyle?!) This guy had been well-trained and was not only competent but also ethical. Doesn't sound like the Watts/Wildbergs fall into that category of practitioner.
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