Attorney General Letitia James filed suit Thursday against a Manhattan doctor and his clinic, alleging bogus claims about his pricey stem cell treatments, including that they are FDA approved.
The Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit alleges that Dr. Joel Singer — who runs Park Avenue Stem Cell — charges $3,995 a pop for risky non-FDA-approved stem cell injections using patients’ own fat, the court papers say.
On its website and in social media posts, the Turtle Bay clinic has “consistently represented, directly and by implication, that PASC’s stem cell procedures can be used to effectively ‘treat’ or ‘improve’ a wide range of conditions, including urologic disease, erectile dysfunction, neurology disease, cardiac/pulmonary disease, autoimmune conditions and orthopedic conditions,” the court papers say.
“Even though there is currently no adequate scientific substantiation that these treatments will be effective; in fact, they could be harmful,” the suit alleges.
The clinic falsely leads patients to believe that the treatments are scientifically backed, that the practice is participating in clinical studies and that it is endorsed by medical organizations, the court documents claim.
The clinic also doesn’t disclose to patients that it gave radio personality Curtis Sliwa and former Denver Broncos NFL Player Darrel Reid free treatments in exchange for their video testimonials — posted on the website and on Facebook — about how well the treatments worked for them, the suit charges.
Although there is a disclaimer on the website about how results vary and how they can’t guarantee results, this is in fine print in a hard-to-find spot on the website, the court documents say.
The AG wants to bar the practice from making any more false advertisements and also seeks damages of $5,000 per fake ad and another $2,000 in restitution to 300 patients that underwent stem cell treatments.
“Misleading vulnerable consumers who are desperate to find a treatment for serious and painful medical conditions is unacceptable, unlawful, and immoral,” James said in a statement.
The AG’s office also said that PASC was affiliated with and followed the protocols of a California company called Cell Surgical Network that was sued last year by the FDA for administering bad stem cell treatments.
The clinic and Singer did not immediately return a request for comment.