Minnesota woman pleads guilty in $2 million AI scheme that promised miracle cures, inflicted injuries

A southern Minnesota woman admitted Wednesday to peddling bogus AI “microcurrent therapy” devices across the country, claiming the treatment could cure a range of diseases but often inflicted burns, scars and nausea upon patients.

Tammy Wadsworth, 63, of Stockton, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to possession of altered, forged or counterfeit pre-retail medical products that she marketed through the pain clinic she founded. In exchange for her plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining counts in her indictment.

Sentencing for Wadsworth has not yet been scheduled.

According to her charges, Wadsworth’s yearslong scheme collected more than $2 million in fraud proceeds from more than a dozen franchise organizations. Prosecutors said Wadsworth used portions of the money to purchase a home in Nevada and a Mercedes-Benz.

Wadsworth began recruiting franchise owners in 2017 and sold them faux medical devices and gels that she bought from a third-party vendor. She then replaced the manufacturer’s label with a label for her clinic, the Pain, Injury and Brain Centers of America (PIBCOA).

Federal prosecutors said Wadsworth told franchisees the devices administered PIBCOA’s “AI myoneurvascular therapy,” which she claimed used artificial intelligence and low-voltage electricity to restore a patient’s cells by placing electrodes on their skin. She said the treatment could cure a number of diseases, including incurable conditions such as autism, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Instead, the treatment frequently injured franchise owners and patients.

The charges state Wadsworth charged franchise owners between $60,000 to $250,000 to open her clinics and promised them a “great source of revenue.” After learning about the faux equipment, all of the franchise owners were forced to shutter. Many reported substantial financial losses.