‘Doctor’ charged scamming patients with stem cell treatment

A Las Vegas man is accused of falsely portraying himself as a doctor that could use stem cells to cure incurable diseases and disorders, like cerebral palsy. Alfred T. Sapse was recently arrested FDA Office of Criminal Investigation and charged with seven counts of mail fraud, 13 counts of wire fraud and criminal forfeiture, according to Fox News. The 84-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison for his alleged crimes In 2005, Sapse set up a corporation called Stem Cell Pharma Incorporated to lend himself an air of legitimacy, according to authorities. He then sent out dozens of phony press releases claiming to have developed a new stem cell procedure that could treat conditions like cerebral palsy. A pediatrician associated with Sapse performed the procedure, which never received FDA approval, on 34 patients in Las Vegas. Later Sapse relocated to Mexico where another doctor performed it on about 100 different patients who were dealing with serious maladies like cerebral palsy. United Cerebral Palsy estimates that there are 800,000 people living in the U.S. with cerebral palsy.