German court sentences pair to jail over fake cancer cure

A regional court in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt has sentenced a natural healing practitioner and her supplier to jail for fraud.

The pair were found to have deceived patients suffering from terminal cancer to put their faith in a remedy that they touted as a miracle cure.

The practitioner was jailed for three years for her part in the scam, while the supplier was sentenced to six years and nine months. The sentences were reported by the DPA news agency and the local Donaukurier news website.

What we know about the case

The defendants in the case were a 57-year-old natural healing practitioner from the town of Schrobenhausen and a 68-year-old businessman from Ingolstadt who supplied the preparation.

Both defendants were said to have promoted the remedy BG-Mun, saying that it could quickly cure cancer without any evidence of this being the case.

The court heard that patients paid up to €6,000 (about $6,550) for the remedy, the court heard.

The broadcaster TRL first reported the case four years ago, leading to arrests and charges against the pair.

According to the court, the practitioner had boasted of "great successes" with one patient, Sabine H., who had acquired the remedy and stopped her course of chemotherapy at the defendant's advice.

The court was told that the pair would have known at this point that the substance would have no effect.

A drug researcher from the University of Bremen had described the defendants' actions as "profiteering" from the suffering of desperate patients.

"Ultimately, it is a hustle against those who really are clutching at straws when it comes to their illness," he said.

Prosecutors had demanded tariffs of three years and 10 months and eight years. Ahead of the sentencing, the court heard evidence about victims in individual cases.

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