Orange County businessman sentenced for selling unapproved medical devices

SAN DIEGO – An Orange County businessman has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a fraud scheme involving the sale of hundreds of the unapproved medical devices over the Internet that were marketed as a treatment for a variety of conditions, including AIDS and cancer.   

David Arthur, 50, of Huntington Beach, manufactured a medical device known as the “Energy Wave.” Arthur was sentenced in federal court Monday by U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez. As part of the sentence, Judge Benitez also ordered Arthur to pay a $3,000 fine and forfeit $30,000.  

The Energy Wave consists of a micro-current frequency generator with a digital readout and keypad, two stainless steel cylinders, and personal application plates with connections to the generator. Buyers of the device received an operating manual listing codes for hundreds of digital device settings for the treatment of specific medical conditions, including AIDS, diabetes, strokes, and ulcers.

The conviction stems from a multiagency probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  

According to investigators, after executing a search warrant targeting a suspicious email account, Arthur was identified as the manufacture of the Energy Wave device, which was marketed and sold online via www.myenergywave.com. Despite prior warnings from federal authorities, Arthur admitted to selling hundreds of the devices online from November 2011 through March 2014. During that time period, Arthur sold the devices for $750 apiece, earning $372,000.

According to court records, Arthur sold the devices to David Perez, of Carlsbad, and Beth Campbell, of Salt Lake City. Perez and Campbell pleaded guilty in September to federal charges involving their role in the fraud scheme. Campbell’s sentencing is set for Nov. 2. Perez is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 11, 2016.