Ryan Hamilton has filed yet another federal fraud lawsuit against the Church of Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon. This makes 26 lawsuits he’s filed just since last February, and none of them has been dismissed (although a number of them have been settled or are in mediation).
Once again, Hamilton has filed a lawsuit on behalf of someone who paid for drug counseling at the Narconon Fresh Start facility in Caliente, Nevada, known as Rainbow Canyon Retreat.
Maryland resident Dianna Nardella found the place by searching online for a rehab facility for her son, Charles, in December 2011. According to the complaint filed by Hamilton, Dianna found herself talking on the phone to Narconon Fresh Start representative Ryan Warczak.
“Dianna explained to Warczak that her son had recently been a passenger in automobile accident in which three of his friends had been killed and her son was the lone survivor. Dianna further explained that her son needed a rehabilitation program that provided both substance abuse treatment and counseling for his grief and depression related to the auto accident,” says the lawsuit.
Warczak, the complaint alleges, told Dianna that Narconon “provided for grief and depression as well as substance abuse treatment.”
Hamilton points out that, in fact, in other cases Narconon has admitted that it doesn’t provide counseling at all. Instead, patients go through Scientology training that is the same for each subject.
Dianna was also told that Narconon has a 76-percent success rate, and was secular. In fact, the program is entirely based on Scientology concepts, and the success rate is wildly exaggerated. Hamilton runs through the evidence he’s gathered in other cases showing that Narconon is really aimed at recruiting people for Scientology, and its own expert witness admitted there was no science behind its sauna-and-vitamins regimen.
“Because of Defendants’ deception, Charles did not receive any substance treatment or counseling for his grief and depression.”
Here’s the complaint…
Nardella v. Narconon: Complaint
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Just how much does infinity cost, anyway?
For several weeks now, we’ve been seeing evidence of the latest kooky promotion Scientology has rolled out in order to get its exhausted members to pony up even more in the way of donations. Now, thanks to one of our great tipsters, we get some specifics on how much it costs to join “The Infinity Club”…
Did you get that? Those goofy jackets you’ve been making fun of? They require a donation of $88,000.
Hm, tough choice. College education for your kid, or a nifty Members Only jacket with a silly Mobius strip emblem on it.
Scientology makes it so hard to choose!
And how about $8,800 for a T-shirt. A T-shirt!
Even worse, for $880, you don’t even get the shirt. Burn.
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Bonus photos from our tipsters
Hey, I just ran around a pole for hours until I went into a trance state and realized I was a manta ray in a past life — and now I have this gigantic Super Power building all to myself. Yay, Scientology!
We didn’t even pay attention to the name until a commenter pointed it out — yes, this is Emilio Calcioli, nephew to famous writer Neil Gaiman. Neil’s sister, Lizzy Calcioli, is a dedicated Scientologist, as are her children, one of whom is Emilio’s brother, Alessandro, who last year married Louisa Hodkin in a ceremony that got a lot of press.
Hey, we went to the Freewinds for Film Week and now we’re ready for Hollywood!
Looks like OT 8 actress Marisol Nichols also made the trip for Film Week. Note the funny joke by Bodhi Elfman!
Scientologists are using social media more than ever. Drop us a line if you spot them posting images to Instagram or Facebook!
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19 days until Alex Gibney’s film Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief opens at the Sundance Film Festival at 2:30 pm on Sunday, January 25 in Park City, Utah
6 days until our special Underground Bunker announcement at noon, January 12
Posted by Tony Ortega on January 6, 2015 at 07:00
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Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING (Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49
PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
