Under federal district court orders announced today, the co-founders of the Stem Cell Institute of America and several related companies are banned from marketing stem cell therapy in the future. The order resolves a complaint filed jointly by the Federal Trade Commission and Georgia Attorney General’s Office. A separate order requires the defendants to pay $5,155,146 in both civil penalties and refunds to defrauded consumers on Georgia’s state law claims.

“The founders of the Stem Cell Institute of America and their network of companies tricked people who needed real medical help into buying expensive, unproven stem cell therapy,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The court’s orders hold them accountable, refund consumers, and permanently ban the defendants from offering stem cell therapy and other regenerative medicine treatment in the future.”