Charges: Minnesota woman’s ‘microcurrent therapy’ device injured users

A Minnesota woman marketed a sham “microcurrent therapy” device nationwide that she claimed could treat virtually any disease or condition but which burned or injured people who tried to use it, according to federal charges filed this week.

Tammy Wadsworth, 62, of the Winona-area community of Stockton, was charged by a U.S. District Court grand jury with mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the long-running scheme that prosecutors allege cheated franchisees out of nearly $1 million in ill-gotten gains.

Wadsworth appeared in federal court in Minneapolis on Thursday and was released on a personal recognizance bond. She is due back in court July 31.

In an interview Friday with the Star Tribune, Wadsworth pushed back on the charges. She contended her Pain, Injury and Brain Centers of America (PIBCOA) “helped thousands and thousands of people” in the 15 years the now-dormant business was in operation. It had at least 15 franchises over the years including in Winona, Minneapolis and Staples, Minn., she said.

Wadsworth said although the primary focus of the noninvasive microcurrent therapy applied by the Electro-Acuscope was easing pain, patients also saw relief from fibromyalgia, Lyme disease and even autism by “treating that area of the brain. We’ve had tremendous improvement.”

She said she used the device herself on patients, including members of the Minnesota Twins in 2010 and 2011. She declined to identify them by name. A Twins official said he was checking with medical and training staff to confirm whether players were among Wadsworth’s clients.

The Star Tribune asked Wadsworth to provide the names of patients who received what prosecutors say was called a “unique A.I. Myoneurvascular Therapy.” The PIBCOA claimed the therapy also could treat depression, multiple sclerosis, infertility and other conditions.

Wadsworth recruited franchisees starting in 2017 and continuing until January 2024, collecting anywhere from $60,000 to $250,000 each while promising a “great source of revenue,” according to the charges. By the end, she received more than $950,000.

All the while, she misrepresented her device, claiming it could treat or even possibly cure a host of debilitating maladies. Instead, on occasion, the device harmed franchisees and their patients, inflicting burns, scars and severe nausea, the charges said.

As part of the scheme, Wadsworth forced franchisees to buy the devices and the gels that she said were produced specifically for PIBCOA, according to the charges. To perpetuate the deception, she removed product information from the devices and attached PIBCOA labels.

Rather than enjoying a thriving enterprise, the franchisees “were forced to close their businesses and incurred substantial losses,” the charges said.

Wadsworth used some of the money and laundered it through the purchase of a home in Nevada, the charges allege. She told the Star Tribune that the residence had been in her husband’s family for generations, and she didn’t understand how that constituted money laundering.

She pinned the franchisees’ failings on the COVID pandemic as well as the entrepreneurs neglecting to follow the PIBCOA’s business template.

One franchisee, Cryoprinceton LLC, based in New Jersey, sued Wadsworth for breach of contract and fraud and won a judgment in September 2022 of more than $165,000, according to records in Winona County District Court.

However, Cryoprinceton has yet to be paid and sued Wadsworth for the money, alleging that she transferred several properties out of her name and into newly created companies in an attempt to avoid making the payout.

Barring a settlement or dismissal, that case is scheduled to go to trial in March.