A Los Angeles doctor who operated a medical clinic that peddled herbal medicine cures has been arraigned on tax evasion, wire fraud, mail fraud, witness tampering and criminal forfeiture charges.
Dr. Christine Daniel, the operator of Sonrise Medical Clinic and Christine Daniel M.D. Inc., in Mission Hills, Calif., was arraigned on the charges Monday morning. For tax years 2002, 2003 and 2004, the indictment alleges that Daniel failed to report approximately $1,290,613 on corporate income tax returns, resulting in a tax loss to the government of $438,809. Similarly, prosecutors allege that Daniel failed to report approximately $315,109 on her personal income tax returns for the same time period, resulting in a tax loss to the government of $73,895.
Daniel was previously indicted in September 2009 on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and criminal forfeiture stemming from a scheme in which she promoted an herbal product that she and her employees claimed would cure many human diseases and conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, stroke, Alzheimers Disease, Parkinsons Disease, diabetes and hepatitis. According to the indictment, Daniel claimed that the herbal product had a cancer cure rate of 60 to 80 percent.
The herbal products were promoted under a variety of names, including C-Extract, the natural treatment and the herbal treatment.
Daniel claimed she personally manufactured the herbal product according to the needs of each individual patient, according to prosecutors. Depending upon the purported strength of the herbal product, Daniel charged her customers between $750 and $4,270 for approximately one weeks supply. Additionally, the indictment alleges that Daniel tampered with three witnesses who were set to testify before the grand jury.
If convicted of all the charges in the indictment, she faces up to 130 years in prison and fines totaling $2.1 million. A trial is scheduled for June 29.
