Minnesota Pain Clinic Founder Pleads Guilty in $1M Fake Medical Treatment Fraud Scheme

(KNSI) – A 63-year-old Minnesota woman who founded a chain of pain clinics has pleaded guilty to federal charges of swindling around $1 million from businesses.

Prosecutors say Tammy Wadsworth, founder of Pain, Injury and Brain Centers of America, admitted in federal court to possessing altered, forged, or counterfeit medical products as part of an elaborate fraud that bilked more than a dozen franchise owners out of nearly $900,000, with total losses potentially exceeding $2 million when accounting for business closures and associated costs. All affected franchise owners were eventually forced to shut down their clinics.

The fake medical treatment scheme promised to cure everything from autism to Alzheimer’s disease. Wadsworth’s company, based in Winona, marketed a treatment called “A.I. Myoneurvascular Therapy,” which she falsely claimed used artificial intelligence and low-voltage electricity to restore degenerative cells to full health. The treatment involved applying electrodes to patients’ skin to deliver electrical currents.

According to court records, she made outrageous claims about the therapy’s effectiveness, telling potential franchise owners it could treat virtually any condition with a 95% success rate. The list of purported cures included serious diseases like Lupus, Crohn’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and even infertility.

Investigators discovered that Wadsworth had removed or covered up serial numbers, manufacturer information, and product details from existing medical devices and then relabeled them with her company’s branding to make them appear proprietary.

Far from delivering the promised results, the treatments often caused harm. Patients and franchise owners reported burns, scars, and severe nausea from the procedures.

Wadsworth used her ill-gotten wealth to finance an extravagant lifestyle, purchasing real estate, including a house in Nevada, a Mercedes-Benz, and other luxury items. A sentencing date hasn’t been set yet.

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