TAC Publisher Released After
Accepting Government’s Offer
ALABAMA: Dr. Richard E. Busch Jr., the publisher of The American Chiropractor magazine, who was in custody of the U.S. government as reported in this magazine (June 2007), recently struck a deal with the Federal Government by accepting a charge of one count of conspiring to sell unregistered securities in the state of Alabama. Busch was released August 29th and ordered to pay $5.6 million in restitution.
Busch observed, “The experience was a ‘blessing in disguise.’ I lost 50 pounds, my blood pressure is back to normal and the creativity in me for the magazine and other projects that I am involved in has grown.”
This case dated back to 1999. Busch also advised, “Be careful who your partners and associates are in all your business deals!” Judge Karen Bowdre noted before the court the many letters received that bore witness to Dr. Busch’s character and ethics and also to the fact that he has a previously stellar record regarding the U.S. legal system.
Busch was represented by Thomas Spina and Joe Mc Lean, two of Birmingham’s best lawyers, whose legal briefs also attest to Dr. Busch’s intent, integrity, credibility, reliability and his reputation in the community as being a family man, married for 40 years to his college sweetheart, with 6 children and 10 grandchildren.
In an ironic twist, Busch, as Publisher of The American Chiropractor, has been the impetus behind its Yellow Page section since it’s inception, to caution chiropractors as to what NOT to do.
Sometimes it pays to settle…
ILLINOIS: A Bloomington chiropractor says he decided to pay damages in a sexual harassment case so he could move on and prevent any action against his chiropractic license. Michael Peffer was scheduled to go before an arbitrator after a former employee, Tandy Lewis, sued to recover $12,000 the city’s human relations commission ordered to be paid. The employee accused Peffer of making suggestive comments and asking her questions about a man she was dating and had since married.
Lewis says she was then fi red for confronting Peffer about his behavior. Peffer initially vowed to fi ght the ruling but now says he’s paying her and the city to avoid a larger legal bill.
Peffer says Lewis and her attorney threatened to fi le a complaint with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, which could have cost him much more in legal fees to keep his chiropractic license. That license is already probationary because it had been suspended in Missouri for billing improprieties.
WJBC
Chiropractor Sentenced for
Mail Fraud & Securities Fraud
NORTH CAROLINA: Chiropractor Joe C. Minder, who was found guilty in January of defrauding more than 50 people of hundreds of thousands of dollars, has been sentenced to five years in a federal prison. As part of the sentence he was ordered to pay $1.79 million in restitution and was placed on probation for two years, U.S.
Attorney Robert Hamilton said. A co-defendant in the case, William Martin McNulty Sr., was also sentenced to fi ve years in a federal prison.
In total, Hamilton said more than 150 people were defrauded by Minder and McNulty through a loan program, called TFH Inc. As part of the loan program, investors would send a check or cash to McNulty through an online banking service. The money was then accessed by a wealthy European investor, known to investors only as “Donald,” who traded in fi nancial instruments that produced high-yielding returns in a short period.
This “Donald,” who Minder said McNulty described as a humanitarian, was particularly interested in helping religious people. During Minder’s trial in January, it was established that “Donald” did not exist.
Many of the victims in the case were people who knew Minder through church or his practice and that he recruited into the program as early as 2001. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Minder continued referring people to the program even when he knew things were not going well. Minder also kept receiving the 10-percent commission he was due for every amount invested, even when investors were not getting the returns promised. Some of these payments were checks made payable to fi ctitious people that Minder then endorsed and cashed at a check cashing store.
Minder argued during trial that he believed the program to be legitimate and never intended to defraud anyone. He said he was tricked by McNulty, who presented himself as a lawyer. In the end, a federal jury found Minder guilty of 11 counts of mail fraud and one count of securities fraud. McNulty pleaded guilty to one count each of mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud.
Times-News
Pass on the information to warn other D.C.’s about events that are really happening to chiropractors. When you see a “ yellow page” article in your local, regional, or national newspaper about chiropractic or a fellow chiropractor, fax, e-mail or mail it to us at TAC. For further information, fax: 1-305-716-9212 or see page 4 for our mailing address.