Who’s Your Doctor? Not This Guy: Supplement Dealer Faces Felony Charge For Second Time

(James LeVeque)

Not the guy in question, but funny anyway. (James LeVeque)

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. In this case, the shame goes to…. a Florida dietary supplement marketer facing a reopened felony charge after he was found to still be misrepresenting himself as a doctor.

The director of Barry’s Vitamins & Herbs in Boca Raton, Fla., heads to court on Feb. 14 to answer for violating an agreement that would have dropped a 2011 felony charge of unlicensed practice of the health care profession, USA Today reports.

As of mid-December, his website continued to misrepresent him as “Dr. Barry”  — even using the web address drbarrysvitamins.com.

After being tipped off by USA Today, a probation officer visited the website and determined that he was in violation of the agreement. His case was then put back on the court docket.

According to the March 2013 agreement,  his prosecution would be deferred for 18 months and charges dropped if he complied with several conditions, including using no signage or clothing with the words “doctor or Dr.”

But the defendant’s attorney maintains the use of the word doctor on any websites was inadvertent and promptly removed. His website now redirected to a new site with no mention of the director of the company being a doctor.

This isn’t even his second run-in with controversy: In 2011, his company recalled Virility Max, supposedly an all-natural supplement, after FDA tests showed it contained an undisclosed Viagra-like drug.

Supplement seller gets court date after USA Today probe [USA Today]

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