FOX 8 Defenders: Nationwide complaints prompt multi-state probe into Spring View Medical Clinic

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The Louisiana Attorney General’s office now says it’s reaching out to other state attorney generals in other states about its investigation into Spring View Medical Clinic.

Our FOX 8 Defenders report first uncovered the claims against Spring View from men who say the clinic billed them for thousands of dollars for treatment they’re not receiving. We’ve also discovered over 75 complaints filed against clinics nationwide with ties to Spring View.

In 16 different states across the U.S., men filed consumer complaints with their Attorney General about medical clinics that touted a treatment for erectile dysfunction. The clinics all have ties to Spring View Medical Clinic, the now-shuttered business in Metairie that we first reported on last month.

Through public records requests, we found over 75 complaints filed with Attorneys General nationwide for the more than 40 clinics we discovered with ties to Spring View.

Many of these clinics have the same people named as officers or managers on official state documents and many have the same main address in Utah. We discovered this list of clinics in an email sent from a Spring View representative.

FOX 8 DEFENDERS

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Regarding the complaints lodged against the clinics, we’ve found, in Illinois, 16 complaints filed since the beginning of 2022 against Edge Brook Medical Clinic in Chicago. In Michigan, the Attorney General’s office confirms three complaints filed against Maple Ridge Medical Clinic.

After combing through dozens of records, we confirmed complaints filed against clinics in Washington, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma, Indiana, Tennessee and Florida.

In Missouri, the A.G.’s office confirms it’s got an open investigation but won’t say how many complaints have been filed against the clinics in that state.

The A.G.’s office in Rhode Island says it’s now looking into a clinic there after receiving multiple consumer complaints.

In Georgia, the Attorney General’s office says it’s reviewing the 10 complaints it’s received to determine the office’s next steps.

We’ve read all the complaints provided to FOX 8. They’re similar to what men in the New Orleans area told us about their experiences with Spring View Medical Clinic. The local complaints and others we read from across the country involve men paying thousands of dollars for treatment they say didn’t work while still being billed by closed clinics.

“Obviously this is not just a New Orleans problem, this is the same type of complaint it would appear from the same type of victim again and again,” said FOX 8 legal analyst Joe Raspanti.

After FOX 8 discovered the clinics across the country with ties to Spring View and presented those findings to the Louisiana Attorney General’s office, investigators now confirm they’re reaching out to their partners in other states about those potential ties.

Raspanti says that’s telling.

“When you see multiple states and multiple Attorneys General coming together like that, it shows you that the investigation is expanding, that these bad actors potentially, are doing it in multiple states and that there’s a communication going on and it brings to mind that the investigation is gaining momentum and has more gravitas going forward,” Raspanti explained.

Investigators say they’re trying to determine if the owners of the clinics engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices. If so, Raspanti says the Attorneys General can file lawsuits on their states’ behalf to get restitution for victims.

“It’s consumer protection basically in the largest sense and that’s what people like an Attorney General, that’s what they’re there to do,” Raspanti added.

The Louisiana Attorney General’s office encourages anyone who had a negative experience with Spring View Medical Clinic to contact the A.G.’s office to file a consumer complaint. That’s also the advice from other Attorneys General across the country as they look into the complaints filed in their states as they consider the next steps in this investigation.

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