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CheckMate Investigative Services Inc. Report on Ladd McNamara

CheckMate Investigative Services Inc.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Re.: Ladd Ryan McNamara and supplementary information with regard to Denis Waitley and Sanoviv Foundation Inc.

Ladd Ryan McNamara

General background information
The search subject utilizes social security number 5xx-xx-xxxx (redacted for privacy reasons), which is a valid number sequence originally issued in the state of California between the years 1973-1974. No other social security or tax identification number was found to be associated with the subject. A possible date of birth of 11/29/1958 appears in our files.

The most recent reported address for the subject is 1781 Via Allena, Oceanside CA 92056. It should be noted that the subject utilized this address to form a California corporation on 02/13/2007 (see additional information later in this report). Other reported current and/or historical mailing addresses include: 185 Shady Grove Lane, Alpharetta GA 30004; 3965 Brookline Drive, Alpharetta GA 30022; 2479 Deseret Drive, Powell OH 43065; 2362 Carriage
Road, Powell OH 43065; 3400 Old Milton Parkway, Alpharetta GA 30005; 1807 Esters Road, Irving TX 75061; and 2100 Habersham Marina Road, Cumming GA 30041.

Marital status
According to published and database information, the subject was married to Deborah Irene Waitley (McNamara), who is reported to be the daughter of Denis Waitley, a spokesperson for Usana Health Sciences Inc. (“Usana”). However, the search subject appears as the petitioner in a dissolution of marriage action filed on 10/11/2005 in the San Diego County Superior Court, under docket number DN139160, and accordingly, it is believed that the marriage has ended.

Adverse public record information
According to information received from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta), the subject filed a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy on 11/05/2004, under petition number 04-78571. The co-debtor was the subject’s spouse, Deborah Irene Waitley-McNamara. The trustee assigned to the case was Neil C. Gordon, of the law firm of Arnall, Golden and Gregory LLP, of Atlanta.

In the bankruptcy petition, the subject listed income for the calendar year 2004 (to the date of the petition) of $24,000; for 2003, $26,000; and for 2002, $24,489 [Statement of Financial Affairs, page 1 of 11).

The subject listed a monthly income of $1,000 as a self-employed consultant, and the subject’s wife, Deborah, listed a monthly income of $6,020 as a Network Marketing Distributor for Usana Health Services [Schedule I – Current Income of Individual Debtor(s)].

Professional licensing
According to published information, the subject graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas, and completed his residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC. The subject was formerly licensed as a physician in the state of Georgia under license number 36573, which was issued on 02/04/1993 (see additional information below).

According to the State Medical Board of Ohio, the subject is currently licensed in Ohio as a physician under license number 35-081069, which was issued on 05/03/2002. The subject currently holds a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Controlled Substances registration, number BM304xxxx (redacted for privacy reasons), which is valid through 01/31/2010 for all of the usual classes of prescription medications (Schedule 2, 2N, 3, 3N, 4 and 5).

Disciplinary actions
According to information received from the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners of Georgia, the subject voluntarily surrendered his license to practice medicine in Georgia on 10/07/2004.

In a notarized statement signed by the subject on the above date, he states:[McNamara – Voluntary Surrender] “I hereby acknowledge that this surrender shall have the same effect as a revocation of my license …”

[continued] “I understand that this document will be considered to be a public record entered as the final disposition of disciplinary proceedings presently pending or which could be brought against me, …” {emphasis added}

Formation of California corporation
According to information received from the California Secretary of State, the subject formed a corporation in California on 02/13/2007 under the name of Ladd McNamara, M.D., Inc. The corporation is registered under filing number C2968999, and the business address is listed as 1781 Via Allena, Oceanside CA 92056.

The existence of the corporation can be verified at the Secretary of State business search portal at
http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/list.html.

Medical licensing in California
As indicated above, the search subject is currently licensed as a physician in the state of Ohio. In the course of this investigation, one of our investigators made telephone contact with the Medical Board of California (telephone 916/263-2382). A representative of the Board conducted a search of their records, and informed our investigator that the subject does not currently hold a license as a physician in California. Similarly, a search conducted at the Board’s internet web site at http://www.mbc.ca.gov/Lookup.htm failed to identify the subject as a current licensee.

In the course of the telephone conversation, our investigator broached the matter of a “hypothetical” individual, who is not licensed as a physician in California, forming a California corporation in their own name, using the designation “MD” (Medical Doctor) as part of the name of this entity. The representative (“Monya”) indicated that, based on her first impression, such an action would be contrary to the regulations of the Board, however, she asked our investigator to wait while she conferred with a senior staff member in the licensing division. When she returned, the representative stated that her senior colleague had advised that one must be a physician licensed in California to form a California corporation using the professional designation, M.D., as part of the name of the entity. According to their rationale, when one forms a corporation in a particular state, there is an implied inference or understanding that the entity intends to conduct business in the state of incorporation. By using the designation, M.D., the representative stated that there is an inference that the entity is authorized to conduct business as a medical practice in the state, a profession that is solely restricted to licensees of the Medical Board of California.

The web site for the Medical Board of California provides links to the California Business and Professions Code. The regulations may be viewed at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov. Some sections of the Code include:

[§2050 The (California) Division of Licensing shall issue one form of certificate to all physicians and surgeons licensed by the Board which shall be designated as a “physician’s and surgeon’s certificate”

[§2054(a)] Any person who uses … the initials “M.D.”, … , or holds himself or herself out as a physician and surgeon, … , without having at the time of doing so a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended certificate as a physician and surgeon under this chapter, is guilty …”

The legality and/or propriety of one forming a corporation in California, using the designation M.D., without being a physician licensed in California, is certainly beyond the scope of our expertise, and accordingly, we would suggest that any inquiries of this nature be referred to your legal counsel for their professional opinion.

Denis E. Waitley
In our written report of 03/28/2007, we revealed that, as a result of our investigation, the subject, Denis E. Waitley, had not graduated from the Naval Post Graduate School with a Masters degree in Organizational Development as was shown in various government and regulatory filings of Usana Health Sciences Inc.

This was later confirmed in a press release by Usana, which stated:
“Dr. Denis Waitley has decided not to stand for reelection to the USANA board of directors. Dr. Waitley recently informed USANA that an error appeared in his biography listed in the Company’s proxy statement and that he did not in fact earn a masters degree in Organizational Development from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California.”

In the course of additional inquiries with regard to the subject, two web sites were found that list a Masters degree in Semantics. These sites are http://premierespeakers.com/denis_waitley/bio and http://www.lifeskillsalliance.com/our-team/denis-waitley.htm.

Extensive database searches were conducted in an effort to confirm this information, however, we were unable to identify an accredited institution of higher learning that granted such a degree to the subject. Curiously, the above Masters degree does not appear in the biography on either of two web sites maintained by the subject, namely http://www.waitley.com and http://www.deniswaitley.com.

Sanoviv Merger Corporation and Sanoviv Foundation Inc.
In the course of our inquiries with regard to various business entities which may be associated with the officers and/or principals of Usana Health Services, we obtained a copy of a document, “Articles of Merger”, which was dated 08/31/2004. The document which was filed with the Secretary of State of Georgia, under docket number 042590413 and control number K914043, indicates that a merger took place effective 09/13/2004 between Sanoviv Merger Corp., which is listed as a California corporation and the surviving entity, and Sanoviv Foundation Inc., a Georgia non-profit corporation and the non-surviving entity.

Database searches were conducted at the web site of the Georgia Secretary of State, namely at http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/CSearch.asp, and their files confirm that the entity, Sanoviv Foundation Inc., was registered as a non-profit corporation and that it was merged-out on the effective date shown above, namely 09/13/2004.

Searches were then conducted in the state of California at the Secretary of State’s web site, http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/list.html. Curiously, no record of Sanoviv Merger Corp. was found using the state web search facility. Two entities with similar names, Sanoviv Foundation Inc. (formed 09/22/2004) and Sanoviv Inc. (formed 02/16/2000) were found, but to reiterate, no record was found for the surviving entity listed above, Sanoviv Merger Corp. However, we also obtained a copy of the Articles of Incorporation of Sanoviv Merger Corporation, which were filed with the Secretary of State of California on 09/22/2004, under registration number 2676401. In examining the web database profile for Sanoviv Foundation Inc, it too was formed on 09/22/2004 under registration number 2676401. Accordingly, it would appear that for some yet to be determined reason, Sanoviv Merger Corporation and Sanoviv Foundation Inc. appear to be one and the sameentity, perhaps due to a corporate name change that was not immediately reflected in the entity’s profile on the state web site.

Searches were then conducted at the Internal Revenue Service web site to determine if Sanoviv Foundation Inc. is listed in Publication 78, which is the list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. A search of the web site, http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78, which is current as of 12/31/2006, found no record of the firm being registered under Publication 78. A search of the recent subsequent additions to this cumulative list at the web site, http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96291,00.html found no listing for the subject entity.

Searches were then conducted using the databases of GuideStar, which contains searchable data from Internal Revenue Service Forms 990 (which are filed by federally tax-exempt organizations) and the Internal Revenue Service Master Business File. A description of the services provided by GuideStar can be found at the site, http://www.guidestar.org/about/index.jsp?source=dnabout.

Searches were conducted at their search portal, http://www.guidestar.org/index.jsp, using the name “Sanoviv”, however, no matches were found.

Accordingly, we were unable to confirm if Sanoviv Foundation Inc. or Sanoviv Merger Corporation are currently registered as a federally tax-exempt organization with the Internal Revenue Service.

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Ladd R McNamara M.D. - Unlicensed Doctor UsanaLadd McNamara apparently has no regard for the rules of agencies that license physicians. Yesterday he opened a brand new blog, which he titles “Dr. Ladd McNamara’s Blog.”

Too bad that on May 31, 2007, Barry Minkow and Fraud Discovery Institute released a report indicating that Mr. McNamara does not have a license to practice medicine. He was forced to give up his license in Ohio after the licensing agency found he did not tell them (as required) that he had given up his license in Georgia. He lost two licenses, and has never been licensed in California, where he currently lives.

A few days after the report which revealed Mr. McNamara is not really a doctor, he resigned from the medical advisory board of Usana Health Sciences.

Adding insult to injury, this blog which indicates Mr. McNamara is a “Dr.” and an “M.D.” comes only two days after National Business Review publishes an article stating that Mr. McNamara admitted to having no medical license: (more…)

21 Comments

  1. MIchael 08/19/2007 at 8:16 pm - Reply

    Tracy,

    What exactly is it that you do, aside from point fingers at people? Anyone can do that. If you really want to make a difference, I’d suggest you stop blogging and look for a position where you have some legislative power – talk is cheap.

  2. Tracy 08/19/2007 at 8:39 pm - Reply

    Hi Michael – Thanks for asking about my career! I investigate fraud for a living. You know… non-doctors calling themselves M.D. CFOs of public companies falsely referring to themselves as CPAs. Public companies making false representations in SEC filings. It’s actually quite interesting, so I think I’ll stick with it for a while. If you’d like to learn more about fraud investigation and forensic accounting, I suggest you explore the rest of my website.

  3. Ron in AZ 09/04/2007 at 11:27 am - Reply

    I agree that he should not refer to himself as a doctor unless he is certified. However, that does not change the fact that he has been through all the training, experienced many things you or I will never experience, is an expert in his former field, and is qualified to give opinions – much like you or I. The medical facts he states are backed by clinical studies and personal experience and I highly respect him for that.

  4. Joy Rainey 11/14/2007 at 12:30 pm - Reply

    I ran across this website when I googled Dr. McNamara to call him and catch up. I find this extremely interesting because Dr. McNamara did several operations on me that led up to me successfully having two children. He is a Saint in my book, and I really think you should take any opportunity to meet him personally and here what he has to say. With or without a license, I would trust him to operate on me!!

  5. Tracy Coenen 11/14/2007 at 12:31 pm - Reply

    Joy – You should probably consider yourself lucky. If he had his license yanked, I think it’s safe to say there are some other women who didn’t get so lucky.

  6. Penny Muckleroy 01/12/2008 at 11:44 am - Reply

    I am not sure why you find it necessary to practice defamation of character on this man. I am not associated with him in any way but I do know that when an individual spends 12 years of their life aquiring the schooling to be given the honor of being referred to as M.D. that has nothing to do with whether he is licensed in any of the 50 states.
    There are doctors from other countries that come here to study and still carry the M.D. after their name and they are certainly not licensed in any of the 50 states. The procedure is that you get the M.D. then you take a state test to get licensed. If Dr. McNamara (and I use doctor deliberately) either gave up his license or had his license removed for whatever purpose he still does not lose the M.D. status he has. He worked hard for that status and sacrificed a great deal to get it. You nor any media smear can ever take that away from him. You need to get your facts straight and find a life that doesn’t destroy someone elses.
    I am not one that believes in the “suit” happy trend this nation exhibits today but if I ever saw a reason for someone to get sued it would be people like you who take great pleasure in destroying someone elses life. How do you look at yourself in the mirror.
    After doing a LITTLE bit of research (I certainly wouldn’t spend much time on this nonsense) I discovered the man who started this media smear was paid handsomely for his role in the so called “fraud” investigation. He was an ex-con convicted of defrauding the public so he certainly doesn’t sound like someone I would want to be associated with. I wouldn’t call that a trustworthy character.

  7. Tracy Coenen 01/12/2008 at 11:49 am - Reply

    Unfortunately, the laws of the State of California prohibit Mr. McNamara from referring to himself as M.D. or Dr. So if you have a problem with that, I would suggest that you write directly to the officials in California, because I don’t think they read this blog.

  8. Dr. Marx 09/12/2009 at 9:13 am - Reply

    I think I’ll play devils advocate in this. I know of someone now that gose around and tells people he has a Ph.D and I asked him one day now mind you he has had no formal training what so ever but he’s read every book and has done every online course available but that dose not make him a doctor.

    I have gone thru all the training I’am certified with E.P.A. and I still keep up with seminars and classes when they come up. Is that fair NO it’s not. I think what you do is very noble and please continue to un masked these frauds,someone mite get hurt or worse!!!!

    We need to remember regardless of what we say or do people are going to do and say and hurt what or who they want. I’m glad you are here to STOP it and STOP IT WE MUST.

  9. Lee D 09/13/2009 at 9:50 am - Reply

    Claiming to have a Ph.D without actually having one is a different issue from being a foreign doctor who isn’t licensed locally to practice. Quite simply, someone who claims to have a degree but does not is a “liar.”

  10. mark 09/13/2009 at 10:19 pm - Reply

    So Mr.McNamara doesn’t have a Ph.D. What would anything like that have anything to do with the legitimacy of Usana or it’s fine products?
    I can see that this site is nothing more than a slanderous gossip corner! and anyone in their right minds will stay far away from this web sight!! Life is too short to be wasted spinning wheels. and anyone who associates with and or quotes Barry Minkow is an extremely stupid individual! He is nothing more than a criminal and should be locked up! If you really think that you are making a difference within your mad little circle of friends then your are nothing more than criminal yourself!

  11. mark 09/13/2009 at 10:23 pm - Reply

    ****you you ******* ****!

  12. Tracy Coenen 09/14/2009 at 8:15 am - Reply

    This is an important issue because the people associated with Usana have a history of lying. The executives themselves have been caught in many lies. So if people are willing to lie about their credentials, what else are they willing to lie about? That’s the whole point here. Dishonesty at the core. Definitely not a company I’d want to be associated with.

  13. USANAWatchDog 09/14/2009 at 3:58 pm - Reply

    Mark,

    Ladd McNamara has a Ph.D. That isn’t the issue. The man had his medical license stripped from him. He no longer has a license to practice! However, that does not stop him from claiming he is a medical doctor. Still to this day he claims he is a M.D.

    As far as not having a Ph.D., that was some of USANA’s other executives and directors. Most companies fire someone when they lied about their credentials. Not USANA however.

    Mark, Do you think it is okay for company executives to lie?

  14. USANAWatchDog 09/14/2009 at 8:27 pm - Reply

    Mark,

    Here is emerald director Ladd McNamara’s USANA Distributor link where he still refers to himself as Ladd McNamara, M.D.

    After knowing that his license has been revoked, what gives him the right to continue calling himself a medical doctor?

    http://customer.usana.com/ (Ladd McNamara’s USANA site)

  15. Sharleine M. Haycock 02/26/2015 at 10:26 pm - Reply

    This sounds to me that Dr. McNamarra has ruffled the feathers of Giant Pharma, solely because he advocates the use of nutrionals, i.e., mega antioxidants and multi-minerals in place of statin drugs. No money in that for Giant Pharma, so let’s just see to it that his license is revoked. There is more than one conspiracy going on here than the Cholesterol Conspiracy written by Dr. McNamarra which makes 100% sense to me. No profit in lowering your homocysteine levels with antioxidants and multi minerals of the highest grade (that would be those produced by Unsana Health Sciences. I have been consuming USANA nutritionals since 1996 and I am much better off for it and healthier today than I was back then. Prevention is the key! i believe in Dr. Myron Wentz and Dr. Ladd McNamarra, both of whom I have personally had the pleasure of meeting. I possess a copy of The Cholesterol Conspiracy by Dr. McNamarra and it certainly makes sense to me. But again, I can see why Giant Pharma would not like it as it would eat into the mega profits they make from selling statin drugs – the most prescribed drugs in North America with side effects that I would not chance by taking them. Same goes for NSAIDS; I won’t take them any more either.

  16. Tracy Coenen 02/27/2015 at 8:38 am - Reply

    Sharleine – None of this has anything to do with Big Pharma. It has to do with Mr. McNamara misleading people by calling himself “Dr.” or “MD.” At the time of this article, he was in California, and referring to himself as such appeared to be a violation of the law. That’s all this is about.

  17. Sharleine M. Haycock 02/27/2015 at 10:56 am - Reply

    Thank you for the further insight Tracey. The law is the law and we have to respect it. I accept that. I just question why he was stripped of his license in the first place. (Like…”Something is fishy in Denmark” and “I smell a rat”. I surely find it hard to believe that it was because of any malpractice. Someone is out to destroy him. I mean just look at the testimonials as to his credentials. It’s a mystery to me, that’s for sure. But I do appreciate your pointing out the law to me. Can you tell me the ‘why’ behind his license to practice medicine was revoked? That would surely clear up any misconceptions.
    I guess the proper course of action would be to work toward getting this ruling reversed. But that can be extremely costly, and in the end, a losing battle.

  18. David Jones 02/27/2017 at 3:19 pm - Reply

    Q; Whether they’re GMC-registered or not, Doctor is still their title. It’s the result of a qualification, isn’t it?

    A; Unless the qualification is removed from them, they’re still a Doctor, whether practicing or not.

  19. Tracy Coenen 02/28/2017 at 4:12 pm - Reply

    David – Thank you for copying and pasting what you found on another forum. Unfortunately, there’s nothing authoritative about that. And as stated in my article, California sees it differently. From the article:

    But according to Candis Cohen of the State Medical Board of California, where Mr McNamara currently lives, “He is so wrong…As long as he’s living here he can’t call himself ‘MD’ or ‘doctor’ or ‘physician’ unless he has a California medical license.”

  20. […] from a biased source (and not an especially trustworthy one, I think, since Dr. Ladd McNamara had his medical license revoked in 2007). Bias doesn’t prove a number to be untrue, though; math does that. When I looked at data from […]

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