No medical miracle in Valley Center

On November 5, Robert Oldham Young of Valley Center was ordered to face six felony charges, including practicing medicine without a license and grand theft by fraud at the end of a three-week preliminary hearing.

Young is accused of pretending to be a doctor and promising cures to people dying of cancer and charging thousands of dollars for fake treatments. He had been charged with more than 20 felonies, but judge Timothy Casserly dismissed the majority of charges for lack of evidence.

“Young is not licensed to practice medicine in the state of California,” according to prosecutor Gina Darvas, who made detailed accusations in papers filed with the court. “Young held himself out as a doctor by calling himself Doctor Young in a clinical setting….

“Young lured patients to his PH Miracle Center in Valley Center with a pseudo-scientific theory,” the prosecutor alleged. She claimed that Young promoted his theories through his website and in his books, and she quoted page 16 of his book, The pH Miracle, in which he allegedly stated: “My theory is that red blood cells do this too: they can de-evolve and then re-evolve into any kind of cell the body needs — bone cells, muscle cells, skin cells, brain cells, liver cells, heart cells, and so on.”

The prosecutor alleged that Young “makes preposterous and unproven pseudo-scientific claims” to support his theory of disease, and that he represents that he has a “scientifically based cure for all diseases, including cancer.”

Young claims to have a doctorate of science degree in chemistry and biology and a PhD in nutrition, and that he is a microbiologist and a biochemist, the prosecutor alleged.

In one case among many in the court files, the prosecutor alleges that for seven months in 2010, Young treated a woman named Tracie, who had been diagnosed with stage-four cancer. The prosecutor claims that Young “viewed” her blood “and told her he could cure her cancer.” The prosecutor claims Young inserted a needle into Tracie and started an IV; the woman did not improve under Young’s care, and she died. The prosecutor claims that Tracie’s loved ones were defrauded of $38,000 for unsuccessful treatments.

“In addition to himself inserting needles into patients’ arms and starting IVs, Young employs licensed medical doctors as a cover for his illegal activities,” the prosecutor asserted.

“Young is the boss at PHMC and is in charge of all procedures and personnel at the facility.” The facility in Valley Center, called PH Miracle Center or PHMC, is not a licensed facility, it is alleged.

Young made more than $5 million in 2012, according to a statement filed the by district attorney’s investigator. The investigator claimed that 80 percent of the money came from patient care and the other 20 percent came from sales of supplements and equipment.

Young was arrested in January of this year; at that time he paid a $10,000 fee to Aladdin Bail Bonds to post a $100,000 bond. He remains at liberty while the case is pending. Private defense attorney Paul Pfingst is representing Young, who is next due in court on November 20 to set a date for trial.