Danville Chiro slapped with $1.125 Fraud Settlement

3/30/2012

$1.125 Million Fraud Settlement

Mountain View, Missouri (West Plains / Willow Springs / Cabool / Winona / Summersville) ---- Spinal Decompression Doctor, Russell Schierling, presents another blog article on Spinal Decompression Therapy.

If you have followed my Spinal Decompression Therapy Blog, you are already aware of some of the false claims that have been made by several manufacturers of Spinal Decompression Equipment. At the top of the heap is Axiom Worldwide's DRX 9000. As I have said, the DRX 9000 is good equipment. However, there is nothing that really sets it out above anyone else's equipment. It seems that the government agrees with me.

Paul Thissen of the Contra Costa Times reported earlier this week that Danville Chiropractor, "Benjamin Altadonna created a fraudulent national marketing campaign for the DRX 9000, a device that aims to treat back problems using spinal decompression, according to a news release from the Monterey County District Attorney's Office, which joined District Attorney offices throughout the Bay Area in the fraud lawsuit."

Altadonna, a marketing guru, had been hired by Axiom Worldwide to create a marketing campaign for the DRX 9000. His Marketing Package was sold to thousands upon thousands of DRX 9000 purchasers. In turn, Altadonna got sales commissions for the DRX 9000 units sold. During the time this was going on, the units were selling for anywhere from $80,000 to in excess of $125,000 each. Both Axiom and Altodonna's businesses were raided by the FBI in 2007. Some of the fraudulent marketing claims that came out in Altadonna's trial included

His claim that DRX 9000 technology was, "Patented".
His claim that the DRX 9000 provided, "Breakthrough Medical Technology".
His claim that the DRX was the only device on the market that provided, "True Decompression" of the spine.
His claim that DRX 9000 technology was, "Developed by NASA".

The truth is that DRX 9000 technology is awesome. If you want to see how effective it has proven to be, look no farther than Dr. Phillip Lloyd of Cherry Health's Spinal Decompression Therapy program in Springfield Missouri. For years I sent people to him, and the majority had excellent results. However, if you want a fair and balanced evaluation of the DRX 9000 Spinal Decompression Machine, simply read my previous post called, VAX D & DRX -vs- KDT. Or better yet, go to our HOME PAGE, and see what our patients are saying about our SPINAL DECOMPRESSION THERAPY PROTOCOL.

11 Comments

Bill Sullivan

4/2/2012 11:48:21 pm

You got your facts wrong.
Altadonna never went to trial.
His company wasn't raided...only the manufacturer.
Altadonna's company and Chiropractors all received some inaccurate product claims from the manufacturer.
The California DA knew this but used the legal system to extort money from altadonna's company.
They first sued for 21.5 million and 6 years later settled for only 1.1
that reveals a lot.
But so does THIS article: ( I also found Altadonna's response on his website under press releases at www.ThePracticeBuildingAlliance.com. The responsible thing to do is edit your comments in your Blog to match the facts.

http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/how-californias-consumer-laws-legalize-extortion/#comments

Tim Holt

4/3/2012 08:05:39 am

I gotta agree with Bill on this one. Another great example of spreading the wealth. They aren't punishing Altadonna...THEY just want some of the money that his company earned. If anyone knows the real story they'd discover that the machine is still very popular amongst M.D.s and D.C.s and has never hurt anyone. This was a sample of even what a judge called legalized extortion; not uncommon amongst D.A.s.

Leroy Johnson

4/3/2012 08:10:27 am

I just asked my father (ex-chiropractor) about Altadonna and he said he's a genuine guy. He laughed and said "Ben's one of those guys. Extremely successful but last time I checked, just drives a big truck and likes fly fishing."

I know several legit businesses that have had to deal with the corrupt wrath of these DAs. More and more, I feel they hire these guys based on their merit to extort money for the state, no matter the criteria of the situation. Pretty disheartening for legitimate businesses looking to scale their efforts and/or individuals with the same integrity looking to do the same.

Jason

10/8/2013 02:32:49 am

Drx9000 is a total scam.

Tracy

12/15/2015 04:05:58 am

Jason, why do you say it's a scam if it helps people?

Kevin

5/12/2017 07:15:01 am

Traction (ironically identical to spinal decompression) helps people at a fraction of the cost so call it what it is. The scam is the marketing, cost, frequency.

Morris Quimby

6/7/2016 09:22:27 am

I contacted the Back and Joint Pin Institute in Tacoma in hopes of reducing my back pain so I could exercise, lose weight and reduce my pre-diabetes. No history was taken, no physical exam performed, only the poor quality A/P and lateral xrays , not read by a radiologist. I was immediately convinced to pay $5950 up front and begin decompression therapy on the DRX9000. At first I felt that things were improving but in hindsite feel it was the placebo affect of being hopeful that I would be pain free soon. Now, over a year later I'm still getting stretched every six weeks. The pain is still there and not improving. Not sure if the DRX isn't working or Dr.Leone made the wrong diagnosis. Xrays prior to and since my treatment on the DRX9000 indicate there was never any disc compression. There is a reason insurance companies don't cover treatments on the DRX9000. Simply there is no scientific or clinical evidence that it works.

kevin

5/12/2017 07:18:49 am

Maybe if you keep going for the rest of your life you will get better. I would keep paying your doctor. Whatever you do don't purchase a unit on line for $500 from the guy named Saunders who invented traction. Unless it has fancy lightbulbs it won't work.

KR Dasharathi

7/3/2017 08:01:36 am

DRX 9000 is a useless apparatus, the treatment on which costs a lot. I had lumbar spinal disc compressions at l4/l5 & L5/S1 and I wanted to try DRX 9000 instead of surgery. I underwent 24 sessions on this machine without even the least improvement. MRIs before/after made no difference. My back pain is almost gone after homeopathic treatment but the compression remains.

Duane Neuerburg

3/16/2021 07:57:55 am

please tell me what homeopathic treatment you used.

Bruce Bell link

2/13/2018 10:33:07 am

I agree with Bill Sullivan in that your post is in grave error on multiple points, and as Bill stated, "The responsible thing to do is edit your comments in your Blog to match the facts." Since it's been almost 6 years since you posted this, and it remains uncorrected, you have chosen the "irresponsible", and in my opinion, unethical path of posting false information . . . for what purpose? It is clear that your agenda is to promote your approach as superior, while running another decompression approach down. That is irresponsible. The DRX or any other decompression equipment must be operated correctly in order to obtain the best results. If you conduct an objective search on www.pubmed.gov, you will find more research articles supporting DRX9000 results than for any other decompression machine. The proper protocol, training, and skills are absolutely required to get the best results with any medical procedure. Please don't mislead people with incorrect and unsupported information. It also calls to question your own credibility. You stated in another post that you have referred many patients to a local DRX provider with great results. I understand that you are marketing your own practice, and I appreciate the scientific explanations and references that you have included on your website. However, I would also encourage you, Dr. Schierling, to state the true facts regarding other medical technologies that you don't possess, and legal events truthfully in order to provide a more objective view in helping the public make the best choices for their own healthcare. Dr. Ben Altadonna is a great man, and has done so much good for the Chiropractic profession, and continues to do so. He was legally extorted by the State of California, and that should cause everyone to be concerned. Would you please consider taking responsible action on Bill Sullivan's suggestion?

Danville Chiro slapped with $1.125 Fraud Settlement

$1.125 Million Fraud Settlement

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