MINNEAPOLIS – In a stunning revelation, 63-year-old pain clinic founder Tammy Wadsworth pled guilty to possession of altered, forged, or counterfeit medical products, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
Wadsworth, the mastermind behind a scam that bilked over a dozen franchise owners, is accused of orchestrating a sophisticated fraud scheme involving microcurrent therapy at treatment centers across America. She then attempted to hide her illicit gains through money laundering.
“Wadsworth is a modern-day snake oil salesman,” Thompson exclaimed. “Fraud exploiting families in their quest for medical answers is the worst kind of crime. It’s theft masquerading as innovation. Wadsworth now joins the ranks of Minnesota fraudsters facing federal justice.”
The founder and owner of Pain, Injury and Brain Centers of America (PIBCOA), Wadsworth, claimed her treatment center, based in Winona, Minnesota, offered “A.I. Myoneurvascular Therapy,” a fraudulent therapy that promised to restore degenerative cells with artificial intelligence and low-voltage electricity. Her lies were exposed when it was revealed the treatment only involved delivering electrical currents via electrodes to patients’ skin.
Wadsworth started her scheme in May 2017, recruiting franchise owners to open clinics across the nation and selling them expensive equipment and gels for A.I. Myoneurvascular Therapy. She falsely claimed the devices were developed solely for PIBCOA. In reality, she had removed serial numbers and manufacturer information from the devices, re-faced them, and replaced labels with a PIBCOA one.
Franchise owners paid between $60,000 and $250,000 to open PIBCOA franchises, only to discover their businesses were based on lies. Wadsworth’s actions caused an estimated $887,061 in actual loss, with potential total losses exceeding $2 million. Much of the money was funneled into a lavish lifestyle, including real estate and luxury vehicles.
RELATED: Tammy Wadsworth Pleads Guilty in $2M Fake Med Device Scam
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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