New IHRB ads break the law
Print This Post
The Health Care Complaints Commission says, ‘If the practitioner advertises their services following the imposition of a prohibition order, they must include the terms of the Prohibition Order in the advertisement… Any failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence.’ You can read the text at the HCCC website, three paragraphs from the bottom of this link.
Despite violating the Orders in 2010, we now see new advertisements that snub the law because they do not include the terms of the Prohibition Order whose details are at this link.
The ads appeared in three different ‘Negotiator’ magazines who collectively boast a print-run of 138,000 copies in the Macarthur, Camden, and Parramatta areas. So far I have evidence that the ads appeared in May and in June 2011. I guess a summons in due course will reveal the scope of this breach.
Not only do the ads continue to disregard the advertising codes in relation to deceptive and misleading advertising, they now include a new statement about an alleged ‘Exciting new improved formula’. What could this be? Mr Sam Cohen’s entire sales tactic relies on telling people that he has special Indian Curries which are supposedly his herbal extracts, which his first pharmacist told me, via his lawyers, that they do not exist. Recently, Mr Cohen concocted some useless water which his second pharmacist (to whom he owes money) said contained no therapeutic effect and no active ingredients.
The Health Care Complaints Commission served Mr Cohen with a Permanent Prohibition Order that says that Mr Cohen is not to have anything to do with pharmacy medications or prescriptions. So how can his new formula find its way into scheduled medications? Mr Cohen has no right to tamper with medications to inject his formula. Ask him to show you real, external, clinical trials for any formula. He is not permitted to inject his rubbish into medications. And even if he could, what proof does he have that the formula actually grows any hair, is safe, is approved by the TGA, and is his own intellectual property and not some useless water or useless herb.
After 19 months of investigations, I am certain that the whole IHRB operation is a scam. The real results that some of his clients do enjoy, would have been attained by taking dangerous non-approved medications such as Proscar, Loniten, and Retin-A in high dosages. People who take Loniten are placing their lives at risk, because that product is not for hair growth, even though an unfortunate side-effect of that dangerous drug is hair growth on any part of the body, which would fall out soon after the medications are stopped, so clients end up trapped with possible heart failure and other complications that some clients might endure without realising that the non-approved medications are the cause.
The ad below mentions me by name. Everything Mr Cohen has stated about me is a complete lie or is grossly misleading and completely deceptive. Mr Cohen had previously placed ads that contained lies about me, and I had addressed those in this article here called, ‘Sam Cohen hits back’. As for Channel Seven’s ‘Today Tonight’ show saying that IHRB was shut down, the show did not say this, and you can read about it here. Indeed, if Mr Cohen obeys the law, and follows what is required of him by the HCCC Prohibition Order, then he really is as good as shut down, because he has no business at all. Taking $4900 and charging inflated prices like $900 for a $70 product is fraud because he is not adding the value that he stipulates.
Mr Cohen keeps saying that I did not apply the regular treatment or take any prescribed medications. Indeed, when I became a client, he said that his treatment is all herbal. He never told me to apply anything other than what he gave me (which were Schedule 2 (Pharmacy Only) and Schedule 4 (Prescription Only) topical solutions of Minoxidil, and some had been mixed with the non-approved Retin-A which caused me pain and suffering), which were illegal for him to handle or sell to me or to any client, considering that he is not licensed and I did not have a prescription, and the bottles given to me were sold with no warnings, and the bottles had belonged to other clients whose name was illegally removed by Mr Cohen by pealing the label off. Using his products, I lost more hair that ever before, and suffered a rash and bruising. It was only six months into the program that Sam Cohen asked me to go to my GP and obtain non-approved dangerous medications, on which he wanted to overdose me. My GP would not comply. I was insistent, wanting those medications, because I had believed Sam Cohen’s irresponsible lies. So my GP sent me to a Specialist, who also refused to prescribe Loniten, Proscar, and Retin-A. So when Mr Cohen publishes his version of events accusing me of not taking the medications, he really should say that he tried to harm me medically, and my doctors would not have anything to do with his shonky malpractice. Mr Cohen then told me to ditch my doctors and go for one on his list. That is irresponsible advice. He then said that it was ok if I did not use those medications (which he had lied about (verbally and in writing) by saying that they were approved by the TGA) and he told me to just keep on taking his topical solution which he claimed contained his phantom non-existent Indian Curries. In the end, I had lost more hair using his solution. I asked for a refund according to our contract, and he refused and threatened me with violence. He mentions police coming to his office. He had called the police after he had put his fist to my face. I then called a second police unit after he became abusive. I was not in his office for 4 hours. I was there for approximately 1.5 hours. The first hour was spent listening to his diatribe and hogwash about how my hair had supposedly grown, while I was refusing to accept his photos which were out of focus on purpose as part of his fraudulent behaviour. I refused to leave his office because the police had been called, and I did not want to leave before the police arrived because Sam Cohen is the kind of person who would have broken a window or something and blamed me for it. I needed to be there to clear my name. He is a drama queen. We had a contract and he refused to honour it. All that nonsense in his ads about a guarantee is guff, and no client has ever received a refund without strenuous unpleasantries which mostly involved huge inconvenience to take the matter to court or to CTTT.
A clearer version of this ad can be downloaded if you click here for a small PDF under 1 Mb. Click here for a larger PDF at 4.6 Mb. For your reference, here is what Mr Cohen had published about me, which is incorrect and completely deceptive. He wrote, “In September 08 a customer pre-planned with an agenda and enrolled under a false name ‘JK’. Signed our Legal & Binding Agreement, photographs, and other relevant documents under the same false name. Did not produce the doctor’s prescription as required for the ‘regular treatment’. DID NOT APPLY THE REGULAR TREATMENT OR TAKE ANY PRESCRIPTION TABLETS. Came back for 4 hours, causing a commotion and loss to my business. Finally 2 (Two) Police Officers from the Rocks had to come and physically remove him from my Consulting room. A few weeks later he created his won WEBSITE under his real name ‘Jonar Nader’ to vilify me and my reputable business with lies and false accusations. HE IS ALSO ATTACKING ME PERSONALLY. He is OBSESSED. PLEASE DO NOT BELIEVE HIM AND HIS LIES. IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS, PLEASE COME IN AND DISCUSS THE TRUTH WITH ME. Please do not believe Jonar Nader’s vexatious, vilifying & lying website & the TODAY TONIGHT’S biased program that we were closed down. WE WERE NEVER CLOSED DOWN.”
Sam Cohen has the temerity to spin his false version of events, but that is his nature. Not a single statement above is represented correctly. Mr Cohen floats with the pixies. I had previously warned ‘Negotiator’ magazine about Mr Cohen, and instead of taking heed or contacting me or discussing the matter with me, the woman from the magazine ignored my privacy and sent my confidential email (which I had sent to her to pass on to the manager) directly to Mr Cohen. So, on Monday 13 June 2011, I sent the following email addressed to the same woman (Judy) and to the publisher of the Magazine, Mr Wayne Gibson. On Thursday 16 June 2011 I printed the email and posted it to the magazine’s postal address, just in case my email had not reached them. I have not heard back from them. Here is what I had written:
Dear Mr Gibson
I had written to Judy (in July 2010) who never responded. Instead, she sent a copy of my confidential email to Mr Cohen, which was most unprofessional.
I then sent a letter to you via courier and never heard from you.
This month, you have allowed Mr Sam Cohen of IHRB to place ads in your various publications.
Please note that the ads are in breach of the Health Care Complaints Commission Orders. They break the law.
1) The Health Care Complaints Commission found IHRB to have endangered the health of its clients. Here is the link to their media release.
Here is the link to my website that (at the bottom) includes the 22-page report that describes unethical conduct by Mr Cohen.
2) IHRB was sanctioned by the Complaints Resolution Panel (CRP) in 2007, and IHRB ignored the Sanctions for 12 month, then the CRP complained about IHRB to the Secretary for the Department of Health, and despite this, IHRB continued to recalcitrantly ignore the sanctions for another 8 months, and to this day is in breach of over a dozen Advertising Codes. So you are running an ad that is in breach of CRP Sanctions, and this puts you at risk. The TGA has strict rules about advertising therapeutic products and services, and if you do not fully understand these, I am sure your lawyer can enlighten you, or I would be happy to speak with you. The publisher has specific responsibilities when it comes to advertising therapeutic goods and services. You can become personally liable to answer to the CRP who has the power to force you, amongst other things, to personally print retractions at your expense. The case is once again before the CRP for yet another ruling due to new and unashamed breaking of the codes, and for deceptive advertising. I would be happy to send the 57 page report in PDF to you if you wish to review the latest breaches being considered by the CRP. The report comes with dozens of appendices.
3) The ads you ran this month are in breach of the law because this link from the HCCC shows (at the bottom of that page) the following statement:
“If the practitioner advertises their services following the imposition of a prohibition order, they must include the terms of the Prohibition Order in the advertisement. They must also advise patients of the existence of the Order before treating them. Any failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence.”
It is a criminal offence for IHRB to have run those ads, because all ads must include the wording of the entire HCCC Order in a prominent font to be seen by all readers. The ads you ran must not have run without the special wording about the Order. Your lawyer might advise you about the risks you face in colluding via aiding and abetting IHRB to break the law, which will be reported to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
4) You have permitted Mr Cohen to print my name and you are allowing him to defame me. Everything he has written in that breakout box about me and what happened is a 100% lie or misleading and is therefore deceptive to the n-th degree, and it is your duty as a publisher to note that you cannot provide a vehicle for defamation. I strongly suggest you seek legal advice about this, as I certainly will, because I will not hesitate to bring legal action against your publication considering the number of times that I have tried to bring this matter to your attention. The facts are on my website www.IHRB-Story.com.
I can understand that a publication like yours needs the revenue. However, there are laws in place, and you might find yourself jeopardising your whole business by ignoring the laws of the land, chasing a few ad revenue dollars. If you are uncertain as to how and why I can make the claims that I make about IHRB, I would encourage you to read the articles on www.IHRB-Story.com and if you are not convinced, you would be most welcome to speak with me at any time. I am a friendly person who acts professionally, and would be happy to assist you before we inadvertently become rivals for no other reason than you being misled by your advertiser, Mr Cohen.
Thank you.
THE IHRB WEBSITE
By the way, IHRB’s website is also in breach of the HCCC requirements. The website does not reveal the existence of the Order. Also, the website includes a full page ad as a PDF which also violates the legal obligations that Mr Cohen has been ignoring since 22 February 2011.
As for the requirements imposed upon Sam Cohen to advise his clients that he is under a Prohibition Order, I can only imagine how he would protest his innocence. I doubt if he is advising his clients properly. A report by a former client tells of Mr Cohen refuting his misconduct and his unethical dealings, saying that he is fighting against the Order.
One of the stipulations is that Mr Cohen advise clients that Loniten is not approved by the TGA. So now Mr Cohen prints this fact on his information sheets, and persists with advising clients to take Loniten and says ‘With doctor’s approval’. It is not for Mr Cohen to suggest anything to clients or doctors. He plays down the use of Loniten, and continues to suggest to his clients to use it, despite selling it illegally and dangerously to this client whose story is noted in this article. This is ridiculous. When the HCCC asked Mr Cohen why he sold medications to the client, Mr Cohen denied it and said that the client had stolen the three prescription-only medications. Now there are audio recordings to prove these illegal transactions and the lies Mr Cohen told Investigators and the Commissioner at HCCC. More on the secret recordings if you click here.
I do not know how many red cards Mr Cohen needs before he will respect the laws of this land. The brazen behaviour might be fuelled by his fantastic good luck. By escaping being charged after the police raid, and by getting nothing more than a slap on the wrist by the HCCC, Mr Cohen is becoming over-confident. What’s that saying about pride before a fall?
By the way, note that Mr Cohen clarifies (for the first time) that Finasteride and Loniten are not included in the program. Which means that he charges $4900 for nothing at all. He is not permitted to have anything to do with Minoxidil, so he now signs people up and gives them Saw Palmetto, which has been shown by the ‘New England Journal of Medicine’ to be ineffective. Click on this link to download the ‘New England Journal of Medicine’ research document. On page one of the report, it says, ‘There was no significant difference between the saw palmetto and placebo groups… In this study, saw palmetto did not improve symptoms or objective measures…’
Mr Samuel Cohen also sells them shampoo that his pharmacist of nine-years had said should not be used with Minoxidil mixed with Retin-A. If the shampoo is nothing more than cheap detergent, and the Saw Palmetto is useless (ask him to show you clinical scientific trials that it grows hair!), and his Indian Curries and herbs do not exist (and any lolly water he has, he cannot prove is anything more than useless water that does not work), and if clients have to use Loniten at their expense (which is is dangerous and not approved for hair by the TGA), what, pray tell, is the $4900 for, along with on-going fees? Sadly, clients are too scared to ask Sam for proof, yet Sam is not backward in coming forward and asking for $4900 for nothing at all. What a profit margin!
SAM’S SORRY EXCUSE FOR A COUPON
The idea behind Negotiator Magazine is that it contains no editorial. It is a book filled with coupons and special offers. Under the guise of a special offer, Sam Cohen says that clients who present the coupon (shown above) before the expiry date, will receive FREE Consultation, which supposedly is a saving of $50. Now that is a knee slapper. I have over one hundred IHRB ads in my archives, and I have a screen grab of IHRB’s website from the first day it went live almost nine years ago, and every single one of the ads has offered free consultation. So why is it now $50 worth? He had never charged for it before, so why is he putting a price on it now? It’s like retailers who inflate the price of their goods so that they can offer a discount. It just shows you the generosity of Sam Cohen, and the marketing genius of a man who can’t even put together a decent respectable offer. It is an insult to all who receive that magazine. I do not even know why the publisher did not refuse the ad’s empty offer. First, it is not a ‘consultation’. It is a sales pitch filled with lies, illegal transactions, and dangerous suggestions. A sales pitch is not worth $50. He ought to pay people to listen to his diatribe. My goodness, the fine print under that offer says, ‘Conditions apply’. A dud offer has conditions attached to it! What could they be? He is luring people into his smoky den (he smokes in his fifth floor office), and expecting them to believe that his time is worth a brass razoo, or that his sales pitch is really a useful consultation. It is not a consultation at all. He has no qualifications and no knowledge, so how dare he call it a consultation. Mind you, he does call his business an Institute, which is another abuse of the English language.
Then on the left we see a coupon for another offer of ‘50% off all treatments’ with an asterisk saying that ‘Conditions apply’ and that the offer is for the first 20 callers only — with three exclamation marks. I have no idea what that is trying to convey. What treatment is he talking about? He means his cheap useless shampoo not worth a few cents that he sells at $20 per bottle? Is he saying come and pay me $4900 and I will allow you to purchase this rubbish (which his pharmacist of nine years said should not be used due to a bad ingredient in it) at $10 instead of $20? I really do not know. It is slimy and underhanded. I have been a marketing man for decades, and I have admonished companies who make unreal, non-genuine offers. I have loudly scolded organisations who use an asterisk to null and void their stupid offer that says: here is a special discount but only if your hair is pink and you stand on your head on the fifth Sunday of the third month of the ninth season of the Mayan Calendar, but not if you pay using your credit card. Give me a break. This offer from Sam Cohen is no offer at all. It is a reflection of the essence of IHRB: pointless and useless*.
* The views expressed are opinions only. Terms and conditions and exclusions apply. Everything expired last week, so tough luck. No correspondence will be entered into.
ONE MORE LAUGH
One more giggle before we go. Note that above the yellow box which offers the $50 saving, we see the office hours, and then we see the words in black ‘FREE CONSULTATION’. The hilarious aspect is that every single IHRB ad has always offered free consultation. And so the yellow coupon was plonked on the bottom of this ad, without noticing that the ad had already offered free consultation. Daft, isn’t it. The ad was already offering free consultation, as all ads do. So a bright spark just slapped the yellow coupon and said, ‘Let them eat cake’.
By the way, I wonder if this whole ad could win a few awards, like the smallest ad (14 cm x 19.5 cm) with the most number of words (1161 words) in the smallest possible point size (4 point). It certainly can win the ad with the most useless, most ill-defined, trickiest fake offers. Although I really think that it might win the ad that breaks the most Advertising Codes by being the most deceptive and most misleading ad of the decade. But maybe it can’t ever be permitted to enter any such competition because it is an illegal ad which is disqualified because it should never have been allowed to go to print, considering it breaks the law.
MISLEADING CONTRACT
If you would really like a text-book example of a misleading contract, check these out. In this article I expose Sam Cohen’s indefensible contract. And in this article I show you how Mr Cohen voids the guarantee before the ink has dried.
OTHER IHRB ADS & PROMOS ON NEGOTIATOR’S WEBSITE
Below we see another section of the nmags website dedicated to heath care, showing a listing for IHRB. We see buttons to print the ad and to print the coupon. These sections, too, are violating HCCC’s Orders. They need to be removed or modified to alert consumers about HCCC’s Prohibition Orders. One of the links shows the ad that is featured above. Another link shows an old ad (shown below). All are now illegal, and IHRB has done nothing to rectify this problem. I know that Mr Cohen reads this website regularly. He tells everyone about this site. Is he going to say that he did not know or that he has not been warned, or that HCCC did not write to him? I was under the impression that ignorance is no defence, yet Mr Cohen told HCCC that he did not know that what he was doing was illegal. I don’t believe that, but in any case, he has been told many times now, so why is it that months after the police raid and the investigations and the findings, is Mr Cohen’s website and ads still sticking a finger in the air at the authorities and at the public?
