A Huntington Beach man who made and sold hundreds of unapproved medical devices marketed as being effective for treatment of AIDS, diabetes, strokes and ulcers was sentenced in San Diego on Monday to 18 months in federal prison.
David Arthur, 50, was also fined $3,000 and ordered to forfeit $30,000.
“This investigation uncovered a serious public health threat and should serve as a warning to those who put consumers at risk for their own financial gain,” said Dave Shaw, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations San Diego.
“HSI agents will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, both here and abroad, to investigate medical-related fraud over the Internet, especially when it involves an online marketing scam, such as this case in which unregulated medical devices were sold under false pretenses,” he said.
The defendant was sentenced for his role in the distribution of the Energy Wave, a so-called Rife machine which consisted of a micro-current frequency generator with a digital readout and keypad, and two stainless steel cylinders and personal application plates with connection to ports on the generator.
Users were provided with an operating manual and a list of Auto Codes that set forth hundreds of digital device settings for treatment of specific medical conditions.
Users were directed to punch in the digital code for the condition to be treated and touch the cylinders or plates to the body for a recommended amount of time to treat the desired ailment.
Arthur sold hundreds of the Energy Wave devices for $750 each to individuals who distributed them via the Internet from November 2011 to March 2014, earning $372,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Arthur had been warned in 2010 by the Food and Drug Administration that the devices he was manufacturing were not approved by the FDA and were therefore considered illegal, according to the government.
Arthur previously manufactured the devices under the name The Detox Box, and they were marketed by a company known as CNGI Inc.
In February 2011, CNGI pleaded guilty to selling unapproved medical devices and paid a $150,000 penalty.
After CNGI’s conviction, Arthur stopped making the devices for a few months but started manufacturing the device again in November 2011, changing the name to The Energy Wave, according to prosecutors.
— City News Service
