Bogus naturopath convicted of manslaughter

The discussion of naturopaths reminded me to try to learn what happened to Laurence Perry, the North Carolina naturopath about whom I consulted with the Buncombe County sheriff's office last year.

Turns out he was recently convicted of manslaughter, as a result of taking a diabetic child off insulin, and she died. The story is at:
http://www.quackwatch.com/11Ind/perry.html

I think the key line in Chip's messages is that no state that licenses naturopaths (roughly a third of them, is my recollection) will accept a degree from Clayton and others without recognized accreditation. None. Zero. That is certainly something to think about when choosing a school, in this era in which people actually move from state to state.

Note: Perry did not have a degree from Clayton. He had seven credentials, including three doctorates, from "schools" accredited by the American Nutritional Medical Association, and one more from a bogus medical school ostensibly based in the Caribbean (British West Indies Medical School).

 

This is interesting, John. I grew up in a small town about 22 miles east of Asheville (Buncombe Co.), and my wife was living in Buncombe Co. when we met and were married.

Had the sheriff heard of your work, and then contacted you?

 

Russell: Had the sheriff heard of your work, and then contacted you?

John: Just two years ago, I testified for the FBI in Charlotte against the man who was Perry's mentor, Gregory Caplinger, who had been practicing medicine with his phony British MD (Metropolitan Collegiate Institute) for over 20 years. Caplinger was the founder of the British West Indies Medical School (apparently run by him from convenience addresses in Indiana and Michigan) which is where Perry got one of his fake degrees. Two Buncombe County deputy sheriffs attended the Caplinger trial, and we had a two meetings then about Perry.

Caplinger was found guilty on all counts. But during the short break before the jury announced the verdict, he, unsupervised, strolled off -- and was 'on the lam' for nearly a year. He was later captured and is serving a 14-year sentence. He was later indicted on still more fraud charges, but apparently not yet tried.

Caplinger apparently manufactured and sold a product called Immu-Stim, which was claimed to be a cure for cancer, diabetes, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and a fair amount more. Perry took the child off insulin and administered Immu-stim to her, and she died.

Metropolitan Collegiate was in business selling MDs for about 20 years. One wonders how many other alumni are out there doing immeasurable harm. The British government was well aware of them, but, since they were not selling degrees in Britain, had no interest.Getting even for 1776, perhaps.

 

Small world isn't it?

Be blessed, John.

 

Reminds me of the 'ol Snake Oil salesmen of times gone by. One dose of hte magic elixir will cure all.

Seriously, glad to see that these people are getting caught and prosecuted.

John