The Neal Deoul Story

CURRAN'S TACTICS QUESTIONED
 BY DEOUL'S SUPPORTERS

(Baltimore) It was March of 1998. Headlines were breaking about a Virginia doctor accused of illegally administering liquid aloe vera concentrate intravenously to cancer patients.
In the neighboring state of Maryland, Attorney General Joe Curran was locked in a heated battle for re-election. Curran heard about T-UP, Inc., a Maryland company selling concentrated aloe vera, a dietary supplement called T-UP, along with Cesium, nature's most alkaline mineral.

Even though T-UP, Inc. financier Neal Deoul was not involved in the Virginia case, Curran saw a chance to make headlines of his own.

T-UP, Inc., Allen Hoffman and Neal Deoul were charged with consumer deception, in part, for daring to promote extensively documented medical research along with T-UP's products -- research that linked both Cesium and concentrated aloe vera to some intriguing and promising cancer fighting properties.

But what were the Attorney General's real motivations? And why did he maneuver the case into a venue where no jury would hear the evidence -- and a conviction was assured?
Consider these facts:

1. The Attorney General never filed a criminal fraud complaint against the company or its officers. He preferred to use his state's consumer protection process, which provides only for an administrative law judge to hear the case, and render judgements with no jury.
2. Curran launched his "consumer" case -- without any substantial complaints from consumers. Only two consumer comments had reached his office -- one from a man who didn't like the taste of T-UP -- and another from a woman who never ordered or used the product. In accordance with company policy, the purchaser received his money back, no questions asked. Meanwhile T-UP, Inc. had no less than 3700 product users --- hundreds of them were prepared to testify about stunning results they'd experienced while using Cesium and T-UP. Of course, in Curran's personal court, they were not allowed to testify.
3. The Attorney General never used his power of injunctive relief to force the products off the market. In fact, Cesium and T-UP concentrated aloe vera are still being sold today. If he is so concerned about consumer's health, why didn't the Maryland Attorney General go all the way? If the safety and efficacy of the products are truly his concern, then the failure to enjoin their sale is a flagrant dereliction of duty on his part.
4. The Attorney General refused all attempts by T-UP, Inc. to meet with state officials to discuss alternatives to litigation. Meanwhile, as an act of good faith, T-UP voluntarily turned over all its records and voluntarily withdrew all marketplace promotion -- without subpoena. The company naively believed cooperation would create understanding and lead to an acceptable resolution. It was a miscalculation.
5. At trial, prosecutors failed to produce a single witness who had clinical or practical experience with Cesium. In fact, prosecutors admitted they could not prove T-UP's claims were false. Instead, they simply argued that because FDA approved testing had not occurred, T-UP had no right to make any positive claims. All this ignores a critical legal fact -- FDA testing and approval is not required in order to market dietary supplements like Cesium or T-UP.

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