DUNWOODY, Ga. — Georgia’s Attorney General is suing a local medical practice for allegedly advertising and performing unproven and expensive medical procedures.
The business, Elite Integrated Medical, allegedly made more than $6 million off the stem cell shots that Attorney General Chris Carr says put patient health at risk.
Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray went to Elite’s Peachtree Dunwoody Road offices and found them locked up and apparently cleared out. But even after the Attorney General filed his lawsuit, the company is still advertising their regenerative cell therapy online.
The FDA has not only not approved regenerative cell therapy, it has issued warnings to consumers about the procedures.
Carr alleges in his lawsuit that Elite made over $6.4 million by using aggressive marketing techniques and high-pressure sales tactics to convince at least 842 consumers, most of whom were elderly and/or disabled, to purchase expensive, unproven medical treatments that are not covered by Medicare or health insurance.
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McDonough resident Greg Russell was one of them.
“I think they’re crooks, I know they’re crooks,” Russell said.
Russell says after $5,000 in treatments his arthritic hip was no better than when he first walked into the door at Elite Integrated Medical.
“What did they tell you it would do?” Gray asked.
“Heal me,” Russell said.
“And did it?” Gray asked.
“Negative,” Russell said.
The lawsuit says that the doctor on the company’s website is actually an actor.
And even one of the customer testimonials was not a patient. He is the owner of Elite’s ad agency.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says the advertising is false and treatment doesn’t work.
“What we’re saying is you can’t substantiate the product you have, you can’t substantiate the service you have,” Carr said.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit is seeking millions in fines and in restitution for the more than 800 victims.
It’s also seeking an order to prevent Elite from continuing to market these stem cell shots as a treatment for serious diseases and injuries.
Statement from Elite Integrated Medical’s attorney Scott Grubman:
"The Attorney General’s claims against Elite Integrated Medical and Mr. Paulk are entirely without merit and based upon both a misunderstanding of the science, and a misreading of the law.
We are obviously disappointed that the Attorney General’s office decided to ignore the evidence and bring this case based upon unsupported allegations."