WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal court has banned the co-founders of the Stem Cell Institute of America and associated entities from marketing stem cell therapy, following a legal battle initiated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Georgia Attorney General’s Office. The co-founders, Steven D. Peyroux and Brent J. Detelich, along with several related companies, must also pay $5,155,146 in civil penalties and refunds to defrauded consumers.
The court’s orders stem from a complaint filed in 2021 alleging that SCIA, led by Peyroux and Detelich, used deceptive marketing to promote unproven and expensive stem cell treatments. SCIA trained healthcare practitioners, particularly chiropractors, on how to advertise and administer these therapies through false claims and free “educational seminars.” Training materials provided by the company included misleading advertisements asserting that their treatments effectively addressed conditions such as osteoarthritis, neuropathy, and joint pain.
The deceptive practices extended to their own chiropractic clinic, Superior Healthcare, LLC (SHC), where consumers—mostly elderly and disabled—paid up to $5,000 per injection for unverified treatments. The court found that the defendants fabricated baseless claims of efficacy, creating a wide-reaching marketing network to distribute these false assurances.
Following extensive litigation, a federal District Court in Georgia granted summary judgment in 2024, ruling that the defendants had violated federal law by making false and misleading statements in their advertising. The court’s final orders, issued in December 2024, permanently bar the defendants from advertising or selling regenerative medicine treatments, including stem cell therapies, and from representing any compliance programs as approved by the FTC or FDA. Violations of these prohibitions could result in further legal action.
The financial penalties imposed include $3,310,146 earmarked for consumer refunds and an additional $1,845,000 in civil penalties. These penalties reflect the severity of the defendants’ actions, which targeted some of the most vulnerable consumers and left many financially burdened without access to legitimate medical solutions.
Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, emphasized the importance of such enforcement actions. “The founders of the Stem Cell Institute of America and their network of companies tricked people who needed real medical help into buying expensive, unproven stem cell therapy,” he stated.
This case exemplifies the FTC’s and state authorities’ efforts to protect consumers from fraudulent medical practices, particularly in the growing field of regenerative medicine. The outcome protects individuals seeking legitimate treatments while holding deceptive operators accountable.
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