"BioResonance" Promoter
Settles Charges

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2002 -- An Internet entrepreneur who marketed bogus "bioresonance" cancer cures has agreed to pay $229,000 to Washington state and to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that his claims were unsubstantiated. The federal settlement permanently bars the defendant from making unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits and efficacy of health-related products and services.

In March 2002, the FTC charged that David L. Walker maintained a Web site and conducted seminars and personal consultations promoting his purported cancer cure, the "CWAT Treatment: BioResonance Therapy and Molecular Enhancer." The Web site claimed his treatments, for which he charged between $2,400 and $5,200, make surgery, chemotherapy, and other conventional cancer treatments unnecessary.

The site and promotional material also contained "testimonials" from consumers who supposedly experienced miraculous cures using Walker's products. The FTC alleged the claims were unsubstantiated in violation of federal law. It also introduced testimony from a distinguished oncologist that suggested the therapies -- which included herbal and mineral mixtures with exotic names -- are potentially harmful to cancer patients.

The district court issued a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction barring the claims, pending trial. The settlement announced today resolves that litigation.

The FTC filed this case in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General of Washington and with its invaluable assistance. The Attorney General's Office obtained a judgment in its companion case barring the unsubstantiated claims in Washington state and requiring the defendant to pay $229,000 in consumer restitution.

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