Add Colorado to the states where Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton has filed federal fraud lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon.
Two lawsuits were filed by Hamilton this week against Narconon Colorado, which operates a ‘Narconon Fresh Start’ facility in Fort Collins it calls A Life Worth Saving (pictured).
We count these as the sixth and seventh federal lawsuits that Hamilton has filed this year, and they are very much like the detailed legal complaints that have been filed against rehab centers in California and Nevada.
In May 2012, New York resident Bryan Mott was looking for help for his daughter, Nikki. He found a website that appeared to be an independent referral service for drug treatment, and called its 800-number. (Like so many others, he had no idea that the site was a front for Narconon itself.)
Mott got the usual Narconon spiel about high success rates and the efficacy of “detoxification” through sauna use. He was told that Nikki would receive individualized drug counseling and medical supervision. So he paid $33,000 and Nikki began the program.
After an initial medical check, Nikki never saw a medical professional again. And soon, the reality that nearly everything they’d been told was a lie became obvious.
Despite Fresh Start’s representations that Nikki would receive counseling, at no point did Narconon staff ever speak to Nikki about the specifics of her life or her drug use and its causes. In fact, no one at Fresh Start ever spoke to Nikki about her substance abuse at all.
As we know all too well from so many other Narconon lawsuits, what Nikki was actually subjected to instead of drug counseling was actually low-level Scientology training, and a sauna program with no scientific evidence of its ability to “detoxify” her. Hamilton includes key evidence from previous lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab program, including testimony from Narconon Georgia’s own expert, who admitted that its claims were bogus.
Nikki left without getting any actual drug abuse treatment, relapsed, and “suffered psychological injuries,” according to the complaint.
The other lawsuit Hamilton filed this week against A Life Worth Saving involves activity that is surprisingly recent.
Texas resident Charles Matthys went looking for a rehab program for his son, Tyler, just this past February.
After talking to Narconon representatives in Colorado, Charles paid its $31,000 fee, with help from Tyler’s grandmother, Linda Phillips, who took out a bank loan.
The same alleged misrepresentations were made to the Matthys family, and “Tyler left Fresh Start on or about April 2, 2014, because he was not receiving substance abuse counseling and he did not feel safe.”
That’s just a month ago. Narconon may soon get the feeling that Ryan Hamilton is watching them like a hawk.
In each case, the plaintiffs are suing for breach of contract, fraud, fraudulent concealment, negligence, and more.
Here are the complaints themselves…
Matthys vs Narconon: Complaint
We’re going to need a score sheet to keep track of all the lawsuits Hamilton has filed against Scientology’s drug rehab racket. Here are links to the previous lawsuits…
Angelo Amato (San Diego)
Christy Estrada and Branden Chavez (San Diego)
Cathy and Michael Tarr (Nevada)
Harry and Lauren Geanacopulos (Nevada)
David, Stacy and Jack Welch (Nevada)
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Flag Down final night — an improved venue?
The live stream for tonight’s Flag Down event will appear here some time after 7 pm Eastern…
Video streaming by Ustream
Already there’s been some drama, with the same process server who was present Monday making an appearance. But it’s unclear who he’s targeting so far…
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 9, 2014 at 08:00
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