Fake Austrian Doc Held On Fraud Charges

[george]

Thai police probe bogus cancer cure after deaths

CHIANG MAI: -- Thai police have arrested an Austrian man accused of injecting terminally ill Australians, a New Zealander and other foreigners with bogus chemical cancer cures.

Several of his patients died in hospitals in Chiang Mai, according to Thai police.

They say Hellfried Sartori is being held on charges of fraud and practising medicine without a licence in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

His patients learned of his services from advertisements on the internet and were charged about $NZ61,000 each for consultations carried out in various hotel rooms in Chiang Mai.

New Zealand police joined the probe after a NZ woman was admitted unconscious to intensive care to the Chiang Mai-Ram Hospital.

NZ embassy officials in Bangkok say the woman recovered sufficiently to return to New Zealand.

--Radio New Zealand 2006-07-11

[george]

Dr Ozone arrested over lethal cancer treatment

CHIANG MAI: -- Quack who served two jail terms in US lured Western cancer patients to Chiang Mai for bogus cures, police say

Chiang Mai police have arrested an Austrian national who allegedly killed at least one desperate Australian patient with a bogus cancer treatment he had advertised on a website.

Hellfried Sartori, 67, was arrested on Sunday in a Chiang Mai hotel and charged with fraud as well as practising medicine without a licence, police said.

Sartori will likely be extradited to Australia soon to face a murder charge, they said.

Sartori may be responsible for the deaths of several Australian cancer patients, who flew to Chiang Mai to receive the treatment in hotel rooms and later died at city hospitals, Lt-General Phanuphong Singhara na Ayutthaya told a press conference yesterday.

Sartori has served two prison terms in the United States - in New York state in May 1992 and in Washington DC in July 1998 - after administering his so-called "ozone treatments", Phanuphong said.

Websites claim the treatment cures everything from Aids and cancer to allergies and hardening of the arteries. It consists of injections of "liquid ozone", usually into a vein.

Australian police contacted their Thai counterparts over an investigation into the death of Kathleen Preston, an Australian cancer patient. Preston died at Maharaj Nakhon Chiang Mai Hospital on July 26 last year. An autopsy report found an excessive amount of potassium in her blood.

Police suspect Sartori injected Preston before she died.

Sartori has been seen with other Western cancer patients in Chiang Mai, police say.

He accompanied Melissa Judith Taylor, a New Zealander with lung cancer, to the intensive-care unit of Chiang Mai-Ram Hospital on June 22. She fell unconscious after he injected a liquid into her chest and neck.

Taylor's relatives later told police that they flew with her from New Zealand to Chiang Mai after reading an online advertisement in which Sartori was portrayed as a qualified practitioner of the "liquid ozone" treatment.

Sartori charged Taylor Bt900,000 for his "alternative medicine".

Taylor's relatives, who witnessed the treatment, said Sartori used a syringe to withdraw liquid from a small metal cylinder, then injected three doses into Taylor, in veins in her chest and neck. She passed out after the injections and had to be rushed to hospital, Taylor's relatives said.

Phanuphong said a gas cylinder and a number of VCDs showing Sartori giving the treatment to a Western man were found in his hotel room.

Phanuphong said his officers were working with foreign police representatives based in Thailand to locate other victims of Sartori.

Dr Phattharawin Attasara, a senior physician with the National Cancer Institute of Thailand, dismissed Sartori's cure as preposterous.

Injecting a large amount of a foreign or inorganic substance into a vein would only cause the patient to faint or possibly die, the doctor said.

Citing information provided by Interpol, police said Sartori graduated from Graz University in Vienna and was a member of Austria's medical council until October 1, 1974.

He is in police custody.

--The Nation 2006-07-11

[george]

Aussies victims of fake Austrian doctor

CHIANG MAI: -- Terminally ill Australians could have been among the victims of a bogus Austrian doctor arrested in Thailand accused of injecting foreigners with fake cancer and AIDS cures peddled on the internet.

Thai police alleged that several foreigners travelled to Thailand with false hopes only to die after receiving injections of a dangerous chemical compound bought for $A50,000.

Bangkok's Nation newspaper reported Tuesday that one Australian woman had died in a Thai hospital last year.

In Canberra, Australian Federal Police said they were working with Thai police on the case after receiving information from police in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

An AFP spokesman declined to comment further because of "operational reasons".

Thai police said Austrian man, Hellfried Sartori, 67, was being held on charges of fraud and practising medicine without a licence in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

It was not clear on Tuesday when he would appear in court or if he would face more charges as the investigation widens amid speculation that he had links with cancer treatment groups in Perth and Darwin.

Several of his patients had died in hospitals in Chiang Mai, according to Thai police Lieutenant General Phanuphong Singhara na Ayutthaya.

His patients learned of his services from advertisements on the internet and had consultations carried out in various hotel rooms in Chiang Mai.

Thai police said Sartori, who studied medicine in Austria, had been convicted in the United States of illegally administering his so-called "ozone treatments" and had served prison time in New York state in May 1992 and Washington in July 1998.

He had been stripped of his medical licence in several US states, police said.

Thai police said his web advertisements offered desperate people all over the world the false prospect of a cure for "everything from AIDS and cancer to allergies and hardening of the arteries".

New Zealand police also joined the probe after a NZ woman was admitted unconscious to intensive care to the Chiang Mai-Ram Hospital.

Hospital officials said the woman checked out on July 4 and NZ embassy officials in Bangkok said on Tuesday she had recovered sufficiently to return to New Zealand.

--AAP 2006-07-11

[BlackJack]

well he did cure their cnacer

[qualtrough]

Hellfried?

Looks like Chiang Mai is attracting more than its share of the farang flakes 'round these parts lately...

[Chang_paarp]

Why send him straight to Australia?

It looks like he committed some crimes in Thailand that deserve a stretch in a Thai prison. AFTER some time in a Thai prison then auction him off to the next juristrction that wants him.

[tourleadersi]

What a terrible thing to do. Targetting people when they are at their most desperate with false hope. To make it worse they would have had to leave the places where possibly the treatment would have prolonged their lives or at least eased their suffering.

I simply cannot understand how someone could do this.

[JimsKnight]

Hellfried?

Looks like Chiang Mai is attracting more than its share of the farang flakes 'round these parts lately...

It just goes to show that these slimeball charlatans who masquarade as supposed 'I am falang you can trust me' types continue to rope in poor trusting souls!

I will say it again, this is thailand and you can trust very very few people!

Especially when they are charging nearly a million baht per injection!

Hope this conman cops the lot!

[John K]

Well the first clue should be the Thais don’t issue work permits to doctors to practice medicine. So if anyone other than Thai makes the claim he or she is a MD of sorts and has a practice you should know what to do.....

[kat]

Why send him straight to Australia?

It looks like he committed some crimes in Thailand that deserve a stretch in a Thai prison. AFTER some time in a Thai prison then auction him off to the next juristrction that wants him.

Yeah, I agree with this.

[robblok]

Jezus this is really bad.. people with cancer will cling to any hope... and then to be taken advantage by such a guy.

It would have been better if he did a strech of time in a Thai prison... too bad... cant helped unfortunately

[HappyDave]

Why send him straight to Australia?

It looks like he committed some crimes in Thailand that deserve a stretch in a Thai prison. AFTER some time in a Thai prison then auction him off to the next juristrction that wants him.

I agree, make him do time in a Thai prison, then if he's still alive after 10 yrs let the Aussies have a go, then after that ship him to NZ......serve the bastard right.

[mistyman]

Maybe he should have a dose of his own medicine!

I reckon he should be given a dose of his own special treatment

[Lifelover]

I was shocked to read this. I have never met Sartori but have read his books and studied his techniques. He is an eminent physician, very well qualified. I am not at all surprised at the fees he was charging and that people travelled half way round the world to be treated by him. There is a long catalogue of achievements - real ones - to his credit.

That said, I've heard nothing of him for the past 10 years. If these stories are to be believed then he may have gone off the rails (it happens with geniuses). The methods described in the articles bear no resemblance to his usual and well documented techniques.

As always with these stories, there is probably more going on than is being reported. My sincere condolensces to those who died at his hands.

[HappyDave]

Well the first clue should be the Thais don’t issue work permits to doctors to practice medicine. So if anyone other than Thai makes the claim he or she is a MD of sorts and has a practice you should know what to do.....

Dont talk rubbish John, when you are that desperate you will try anything, and we do hear about Thailand becoming a world medical centre.

Dont let him come here . Aussie jails are too easy, own modern cells all airconditioned, personal TV's, computers, special diets , gymnasiums and so on .......No let him rot in the Bangkok Hilton...........

[NextStationBangkok]

What about Thai Doctors who writes 100 antibiotics for a 2 year old child having cold ?. I hate the antibiotic feeding f*c*ing doctors, just for the commission bribes from the medicine companies. Just incase if you have Insurace they almost admit in hospital and kill you feeding medicines.

Do you have this bad experience with Doctors please write your experience.

[Lifelover]

He is Austrian, not Aussie...

[rocky]

What a terrible thing to do. Targetting people when they are at their most desperate with false hope. To make it worse they would have had to leave the places where possibly the treatment would have prolonged their lives or at least eased their suffering.

I simply cannot understand how someone could do this.

As Homer Simpson would say "False hope is still hope"

[Inspector 2211]

He is Austrian, not Aussie...

Yes, but after being discredited in Austria some 25 or 30 years ago, he moved to the U.S., was stripped of his medical license in one state, moved to another state, was stripped of his medical license there, too, moved to Australia, had to flee Australia because of criminal charges, moved to Thailand.

So yes, he is an Austrian, but will be tried and incarcerated in Australia.

[LukDod]

Well the first clue should be the Thais don’t issue work permits to doctors to practice medicine. So if anyone other than Thai makes the claim he or she is a MD of sorts and has a practice you should know what to do.....

This is incorrect! There are farang MD's that legally and ethically practice in Thailand. I personally know of three. One, is a US MD, who comes here to teach practicing Thai docs more of his surgical specialty in ophthalmology. One is a Swiss trained MD, who passed the Thai Medical boards (which are given in Thai) and has had a clinic in Pattaya for many years. The third is a Philippine trained lady MD who also is working legally in Thailand. I'm sure there are other 'farang' MD's legally practicing in Thailand.

Unfortunately...whether in Thailand or elsewhere, there will always be the unethical scammers who are not what they claim to be, or perform unproven and unethical procedures as in the case of the doc in Chiang Mai..

Edited July 11, 2006 by LukDod

[h90]

He is Austrian, not Aussie...

Yes, but after being discredited in Austria some 25 or 30 years ago, he moved to the U.S., was stripped of his medical license in one state, moved to another state, was stripped of his medical license there, too, moved to Australia, had to flee Australia because of criminal charges, moved to Thailand.

So yes, he is an Austrian, but will be tried and incarcerated in Australia.

to mention that Hellfried Sartori is far away from beeing a typical Austrian name, so he might be the holder of an Austrian passport but not a "real" Austrian (must mention that, but after checking my bank account, I would also do many things for 1 million baht and I am also Austrian....)

[cobra]

These scam treatments and dubious physicians draw hundreds of desperate, terminal ill people to Mexico and PI, but this is the first I've heard of them setting up shop in LOS.

From the perspective of the serious or terminally ill, they have little to lose as conventional medicine has nothing left to offer them, so these shysters offer them something that always sells, hope.

What little resources they may have left are squandered away by nefarious and heartless scammers, offering fringe treatments / procedures, be it holistic, divine agents, potions, nostrums and all manner of quackery. Though some may be sincere, and the placebo effect can cause miraculous recoveries, these would be the exceptions, not the rule.

Your going to see a lot more of this, especially as monied and aging populations stare down their ultimate demise, Kevorkian had a brisk business, and these were just people looking for a way out.

[penzman]

Prison? A cancer causing exposure to radiation would be more fitting. The nerve to take advantage of people desperately clinging on to life.

[Fraktalkid]

Does anyone happen to know the address of his website? would be quite interesting to see

Fraktalkid

[Heiner]

I was shocked to read this. I have never met Sartori but have read his books and studied his techniques. He is an eminent physician, very well qualified. I am not at all surprised at the fees he was charging and that people travelled half way round the world to be treated by him. There is a long catalogue of achievements - real ones - to his credit.

That said, I've heard nothing of him for the past 10 years. If these stories are to be believed then he may have gone off the rails (it happens with geniuses). The methods described in the articles bear no resemblance to his usual and well documented techniques.

As always with these stories, there is probably more going on than is being reported. My sincere condolensces to those who died at his hands.

Looks like this doctor is also active with this mails

http://www.joewein.net/419/emails/2006-05/25/536938.403.htm

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa.

Looks like he injected himself already

[Kathe]

He might desire to be a doctor but too lazy to learn too many years to get the licens. He's just want to be mr. Dr. Frakenstein But his name has 2 meaning in 2 languages. Hellfried....Friedlich to hel_l...in English....To hel_l peacefully ( for his victims)

So sad to hear that hopeless people who wants to be cure believe the advertising in net.

It is the same like people believing in something that cant be proved...and there are many fake dr. or healing dr without licens, or just drink a holy water and you will be healthy and immortal.

It's good that he is in jail now. But hope he wont be a Dr. Volunteer behind the bar

[Kathe]

He might desire to be a doctor but too lazy to learn too many years to get the license. He's just want to be mr. Dr. Frakenstein But his name has 2 meaning in 2 languages. Hellfried....Friedlich to hel_l...in English....To hel_l peacefully ( for his victims)

So sad to hear that hopeless people who wants to be cure believe the advertising in net.

It is the same like people believing in something that cant be proved...and there are many fake dr. or healing dr without licens, or just drink a holy water and you will be healthy and immortal.

It's good that he is in jail now. But hope he wont be a Dr. Volunteer behind the bar

Edited July 11, 2006 by Kathe

[Fraktalkid]

... found the page -

http://www.cancertutor.com/Other02/Sartori.html

as follows. Seems it's public record that he was struck off in America.. What sort of checks are there for doctors in this country?

page reads as follows (in case they pull it down):

Cancer Clinic - Dr. Abdul-Haqq Sartori, M.D. (Thailand)

Dr. Sartori was raised and educated in Austria, but did obtain a great deal of training in the United States. He is very well known among alternative cancer authorities for his magnificant study using cesium chloride on highly advanced cancer patients:

* "Dr. H. E. Sartori began his cesium cancer therapy program in April 1981 at Life Sciences Universal Medical Clinics in Rockville, Md. Fifty patients with widespread metastatic tumor deposits were treated. Forty-seven of these 50 patients had already completed maximal modalities of treatment, i.e. surgery, radiation, multiple courses of chemotherapy before cesium was tried. Their condition was hopeless.

Cesium chloride was given in 3 equal divided doses of 6 to 9 grams daily. Supplemental vitamin A emulsion (100,000 to 300,000 U), vitamin C (4 to 30 grams), zinc (80 to 100 mg., selenium (600 to 1200 mg.), and amygadalin (1500 mg.) were given plus other supplements. The diet consisted primarily of whole grains, vegetables, linolenic acid rich foods (flaxseed, walnut, soy, wheat germ) and other supplemented food. EDTA (chelation, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and a combination of vitamins K, and magnesium salts were also given. The types of malignancies treated included 10 patients with breast cancer, 9 with colon cancer, 6 with prostate cancer, 4 had pancreatic cancer, 5 had lung cancer, 3 had liver cancer (hepatoma), 3 had lymphoma, 1 had Ewing's sarcoma of the pelvis, 1 had an adenocarcinoma and 8 had cancer from an unknown site of origin.

Approximately 50 % of patients with breast, colon, prostate, pancreas and lung cancer survived. Three patients were comatose when the therapy was initiated. Thirteen patients died in the first 2 weeks of therapy. Autopsy results in each of these 13 disclosed reduction in tumor mass size caused by cesium therapy. Also pain disappeared in all patients within 1 to 3 days after initiation of cesium therapy. This may have reflected decreased production of lactic acid by dying cancer cells ..."

http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james14.htm

By Dr. James Howenstine, MD., June 29, 2004

Dr. Sartori currently practices in Thailand and other countries. In July, 2005 he will open a clinic in England.

The following story, and related issues, explain the main reason why he left the United States:

* "... on 2 May 1992, U.S Government Agents simultaneously broke into three locations where the originals and two copies of some 3000 patient records treated by LSU [a medical center, not the university] from 1980 through 1992, including about 650 cancer patients, about 180 AIDS patients, about 80 multiple sclerosis patients, and over 2000 patients with different conditions that were the data basis for the 2d ed. of the Ozone Book that for reasons beyond the control of the authors took until the year 2005 to be finally completed."

Dr. Sartori's literature

I quote from Dr. Sartori's current literature regarding his cancer treatment:

* "(1) High-dose direct I.V. ozone: while there were about 6,000 practitioners in Germany & about 10,000 worldwide in 1955 who used high-dose direct I.V. ozone, to the best of my knowledge, I am presently the only practitioner in the world who uses this modality as BASIS THERAPY for all conditions to homeopathically reverse ALL DISEASE TENDENCIES. Note that I described this homeopathic effect of ozone in 1980, but it has been ignored by all practitioners ever since. The results of over 10,000 patients treated with this modality are reflected, in part, in my book, OZONE, the Eternal Purifier ..., especially in the forthcoming 2d ed. Over 200 Internet sites draw on the ozone effects described in the 1st edition.

(2) I.V. application of the high pH therapy: while there were a few practitioners, including Dr Hans Nieper & Dr Jonathan Wright, who used the oral form in some of their patients, I am the only one who consistently used it I.V. as it is 1.5 to 3.0 times more consistently effective. Of some 750 patients with cancer, over 500 were treated with the I.V. application. A fraction of the actual results are discussed in Now that you have learned that you have TERMINAL/INCURABLE CANCER, & this exposé is a small fraction of the forthcoming entirely new comprehensive book on the state-of-the-art of alternative /complementary cancer treatments, CANCER? You Can Turn it into a New Lease on Life.

(3) Separation of ozone, minerals, & vitamins (eventually followed by hyperbaric oxygen) to minimize any adverse reactions that are common if vitamins & minerals are combined in the same I.V."

Dr. Sartori's literature

Dr. Sartori also treats a number of other diseases, including Alzheimers, atherosclerosis (both using a type of chelation), an enhanced version of Dr. Nieper protocols for multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), proven effective since the 1950s, pulmonary sarcoidosis, lung diseases including emphysema, hepatitis, vaginal yeast infections and virtually all other infectious diseases, AIDS and other immune system disorders.

To say that Dr. Sartori may be the world's foremost expert on cesium chloride treatments, which he has refined for over 25 years, may be a great understatement. He has demonstrated that cesium chloride and ozone, both given by I.V., are highly synergistic. He is also the author of a book on ozone.

The cost of his treatment will range from between $15,000 and $20,000, or more, plus travel expenses.

To contact Dr. Sartori, the following information may be helpful:

Professor Abdul-Haqq Sartori, M.D.

(and contact info - see website URL above)

[penzman]

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=Hellfr...nG=Search&meta=

Scam artist.

[LukDod]

... found the page - http://www.cancertutor.com/Other02/Sartori.html[/url]

as follows. Seems it's public record that he was struck off in America.. What sort of checks are there for doctors in this country?

page reads as follows (in case they pull it down):

Cancer Clinic - Dr. Abdul-Haqq Sartori, M.D. (Thailand)

Dr. Sartori was raised and educated in Austria, but did obtain a great deal of training in the United States. He is very well known among alternative cancer authorities for his magnificant study using cesium chloride on highly advanced cancer patients: ....<SNIP>...

If you look at the main page of that site, http://www.cancertutor.com, it's quite apparent that it lists nearly every known ...unproven...(via clinical trials) approach to cancer treatment. Even the various links are only to various 'alternative' treatments. Nowhere is there a mention of the American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association, The National Institute of Health, etc., etc. In essence the site is a 'quack' list.

The sad thing about medicine is that once an MD license is obtained, you _could_ do procedures that are not mainstream or proven. State Medical Boards (USA) are quite slow in revoking licenses; often a doc is just sanctioned for maybe a year or more if a patient dies from an improper treatment. Only in very serious cases of malpractice is the license revoked. In cases involving terminal cancer patients, it's often quite difficult to prove the patient died because of the treatment.