Sunday, November 24, 2013

Woo Most Bizarre: Fake "Device" Sold by Now Transvestite Singer Fugitive

It is quite often that the MLM Skeptic encountered woo, but this one is far more bizarre than most. In fact, this may be the most bizarre woo that I have ever encountered (even including "cans of air certified to do nothing" and "fuel additive that violates laws of thermodynamics")

This woo is called QXCI, but it is also known as EPFX, or even SCIO. What the letters stand for is not important (it'll be listed at the end).

It roughly looks like this (laptop not included):

QXCI (everything except the laptop), picture courtesy of
http://www.badscience.net/2008/08/bill-nelson-wins-the-internet/
The important part is they are just random jumble of buzzwords. It's a machine that claims to be woo for all seasons... it is  (I am quoting from a website pushing such)
"... is an incredibly acurate (sic) biofeedback stress reduction system, combining the best of biofeedback, stress reduction, Rife machines, homeopathic medicine, bioresonance, electro-acupuncture, computer technology and quantum physics”.
And the operating principle of this device is based on...
"the following modalities: naturopathy, homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic, energetic medicine, psychology, aromatherapy, reflexology, colour therapy, Neuro- Linguistic Programming, biofeedback and Rife Resonator. It also incorporates knowledge of metaphysical subjects to bring a unique synergistic perspective to natural healing."
In other words, this is every quack woo lover naturopath dream machine!

But you'd never guess who invented this... and what happened to him...




The device was apparently invented by a "Bill Nelson". A former math teacher in Colorado, Nelson claimed to have invented this device (apparently out of nowhere) that will diagnose and eradicate disease (of every sort, from allergies to cancer, according to Seattle Times) with radio waves. He claimed to have 8 doctorates, according to his own resume, but they come from unaccredited buy-a-worthless-degree mail-order diploma mills. He also claimed to have worked at NASA during Apollo 13 and was a backup gymnast for the 1968 Olympics, except there was no record of him at either place.

He created the machine and registered it in 1989 with the FDA as stress-relieving tool / biofeedback. By law, he's not allowed to claim any more than that, but he did so any way.  However, he also claimed to have been nominated for a Noble Prize (yes, that's how he had spelled it)

In 1992, FDA caught up with him, ordering him to stop giving bogus promises, and issued a recall of the machines. Nelson is not deterred, and continued to make bogus claims.

Nelson fled the US for Hungary in 1996 when FDA brought 9 cases of felony fraud against him. Leaving behind two ex-wives and two kids, who apparently knew of his little "condition" which we will explain later.

Bill Nelson now operates his outfit, called Eclosion KFT, from Budapest, Hungary. And for a few years, he actually got FDA registration for his machine when in 1997 the new laws made for "streamlined" approval of new devices. However, when his ruse was discovered,  his device has been BANNED by the US FDA along with a long list of bogus devices all over the world.

Yet with hefty commission promised to adopters, he has signed up a network of alternative medicine providers, chiropractors, even a a few physicians, into buying these devices to look high-tech and charge higher prices, and two of these people managed to get these devices into a real US hospital, without disclosing they were commissioned "dealers" of such devices.

Suckers patients pay $40-150 an hour to be hooked up to a machine that does NOTHING. And several patients are KNOWN to have died, having trusted this woo instead of REAL medicine, according to the Seattle Times report above.  And this machine costs the "treaters" (naturopathic "doctors", chiropractors, spa owners, and "alternative" medicine providers) up to 12000 dollars, and the costs keep going up. The "latest" version as of 2007 costs 20000 USD.

At least one engineer have examined the source code of the machine and found it to be "apparently generating results randomly". It's no more than a TV prop, sold as the real McCoy.

And apparently this is being sold to Africa as real treatment for something... Anything.

Let's just say that even some chiropractors found this bogosity to be WTF. Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners banned the device to be used by ANY chiropractors in the state.

But you haven't heard much about Bill Nelson yet...

Mr. Nelson apparently has an ego the size of Manhattan. He has apparently made several movies featuring himself, narrated by himself, where he's the hero fighting against the FDA and evil agents (implied to be working for "Big Pharma") but you won't ever guess what's his stage persona...

This is what William "Bill" Nelson used to look like:

William "Bill" Nelson, via http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/File:William_Nelson.jpg
You'd have NEVER guess that this is also him:


Yep, our Dr. Nelson is also known in Hungary as Desire Dubonet, as of 2002, and is LGBT spokesperson and transvestite. It was rumored that when he emigrated to Hungary he wrote on his paper that he's hermaphrodite... that despite his male appearance he also has ovaries inside. No idea if that's true or not. However, his current Hungarian wife has apparently accepted his feminine side which looks like this:


If you check on Youtube, you'll see that Ms. Dubonet has several 'music video's with not too bad production values.

And apparently s/he is STILL making those darn devices for sale, which has been revealed all around the world as fraud, even in Hong Kong (link in Chinese) and Canada CBC Interview

Thanks to Richard Harriman of Consumer Watch for the tip on this story.

QXCI = quantum Xrroid Consciousness Interface
EPFX = Electro Physiological Feedback Xrroid
SCIO = Scientific Consciousness Interface Operation

I told you it's gibberish.
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7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the good laugh!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Check this out

    http://youtu.be/6ChyxfWuYAs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the CBC interview I posted near the end, but glad to know there's a Youtube copy.

      Delete
  3. I've been on the Scio device for 7 months now. I'm being treated for bi-polar depression. I've tried numerous mood stabilizers, anti-depressants etc. but none has proven to work. I gave the Scio a shot, and so far it has worked for me, that is all I can say. It doesn't work for everyone, I'm aware of that. I'm from South Africa, where I pay R400 per session ($40). I would gladly pay a hundred dollars, this is the only device that has been able to help me cope. Don't knock something until you've tried it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't need to get shot to know getting shot is bad for me. Your logic is idiotic.

      The device is not approved by ANY medical facility or authority in your country. You may as well go to a witch doctor. You'll probably feel even better doing that, and cheaper too.

      Given that whoever is treating you paid probably more than $25000 USD for it, you'll be handing over a lot of R$400's. And any effect you feel is probably placebo effect.

      Delete
  4. You say it can be a placebo efect...and??? Have you researched about the placebo effect? Anyway, Bipolar disease is a very serious thing, you cannot speak of it as if you are on a neighbour chit-chat. It's obscene.

    If that treatment helps him in any way, what is the problem to you? Don't you like people feels better?

    Also, the waves treatment is not new. it is used widely from decads ago on the standard medicine to diagnose and to relief some diaseases.

    I'm sorry you cannot see longer than 1 meter from you.
    Best wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Placebo effect is not an effective treatment in itself. A effective treatment has to do BETTER than placebo.

    https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-myth-of-the-placebo-effect

    Feeling better is not the same as actually getting better.

    The fact that you manage to ignore all the medical evidence against it (FDA prosecution, Seattle Times expose, and more) and want to argue "what harm does it do" just proves you are blind toward reality.

    Thanks for playing.

    ReplyDelete