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Argentine justice has processed the Cuban influencer Ernesto Prieto Gratacós without preventive detention, accused of fraud for selling a supposed cure for cancer without scientific backing in Buenos Aires.
Judge Martín Yadarola also ordered a seizure of 20 million pesos (about 14,200 dollars) on his assets and those of two collaborators.
The case, handled by the National Prosecutor's Office in Criminal and Correctional Court No. 27, was initiated following the complaint filed by the relatives of two women diagnosed with pancreatic and colon cancer who passed away in 2020, months after beginning treatment at a facility known as the Metabolic Therapy Center, located on Paraná Street.
The processing
According to Infobae, Prieto Gratacós -born in Havana in 1967 and residing in Argentina since 1997- was prosecuted along with María Victoria Rodríguez Amador and Roberto Álvarez, identified as his main collaborators.
The crime under investigation is fraud, for "selling in the country of crotoxin a cancer cure that never existed."
According to the resolution cited by that medium, Judge Yadarola accused them of “making false promises of recovery or guaranteeing a greater life expectancy” by offering an alleged “alternative medical treatment” based on “studies and statistics without scientific evidence and other tricks”, through which they obtained various monetary disbursements.
The portal NoticiasNQN specified that the influencer -who has nearly 300,000 followers on Instagram- spread alleged “revolutionary” therapies against cancer, despite lacking a valid medical degree.
He also pointed out that the place where he attended to patients operated as an oncology clinic, despite being officially designated only as a dental center.
The specialized portal Cure Compass indicated that the influencer was charged for offering a false "metabolic cure" for cancer, and that the case once again puts under scrutiny the non-scientifically validated treatments promoted on social media.
The treatment offered
According to the Prieto Gratacós processing, it promised that it “could cure any type of cancer,” eliminate tumors, and extend the life expectancy of one of the patients by 84 months.
The scheme included "35 applications of the CISA system Competitive Inhibition with Structural Analogues", "30 applications of the metabolic induction protocol" and a "KETO-MR anti-neoplastic nutrition program Keto-Metabolic Rehabilitation."
All procedures were charged, and the fees were adjusted to the fluctuations of the dollar.
The two women began treatment in mid-2019, after going through multiple tests and chemotherapy sessions without favorable results.
Between them, they paid approximately 350,000 pesos at that year's values for more than a dozen applications each.
According to the case, one of the patients reported “stomach acidity, dizziness lasting several hours after each session, confusion, dry throat, and lack of strength in the arms.”
According to the research, those symptoms were considered expected side effects by the center's staff.
One of the women passed away on January 15, 2020, and the other in May of the same year.
After the deaths, their relatives filed a criminal complaint against the influencer and the center's team.
The Metabolic Therapy Center closed in mid-2020.
Searches and expert assessments
During the investigation, the Argentine Federal Police intervened and raided the establishment.
The judge requested the intervention of the National Administration of Drugs, Foods, and Medical Technology (ANMAT) to analyze the seized substances.
According to reports, the studies did not yield conclusive results regarding specific risks, and in medical terms, the substances were “practically nothing”, as cited by Infobae.
The Forensic Medical Corps was called to determine if there was a direct causal link between the treatment provided and the deaths.
The specialists concluded that "the treatment provided could be considered an alternative or complementary therapy, also lacking level 1A scientific evidence, which prevented conclusive medical-legal conclusions from being drawn."
The defense
In his written defense, Prieto Gratacós has described himself as a "writer" and "self-taught" and asserts that he never displayed credentials he did not possess.
He claims that his therapy is "complementary" to traditional oncology.
It also noted that the Center had organized “four Pan American congresses on metabolic therapy,” with attendance from specialists, including a former director of the National Cancer Institute, and that “there was evidence of the Ministry of Health's interest” in these activities.
According to Infobae, at the beginning of the case, more serious criminal charges were considered, such as negligent homicide, abandonment of a person, illegal practice of medicine, and criminal conspiracy.
However, the prosecutor requested the dismissal of the involuntary manslaughter charges due to the inability to prove that the treatment directly caused the deaths, and ruled out other accusations due to insufficient evidence.
Despite the complaints and the closure of the center in 2020, the influencer remained active on social media in the following years, where he continued to share content related to health and cancer.
The judicial process continues under the charge of fraud, focusing on the unsubstantiated promises of healing and the payments made by the patients.
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