Cuban Influencer Faces Charges for Promoting Fake Cancer Cure: The Methods Behind the Scheme

An Argentine court has charged Cuban influencer Ernesto Prieto Gratacós for fraud, accusing him of selling an unverified cancer cure in Buenos Aires. Although he remains free, the court has placed a 20 million peso (approximately $14,200) embargo on his assets and those of two accomplices.

According to sources, the legal proceedings were initiated by the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No. 27 following complaints from families of two women who died from pancreatic and colon cancer in 2020. These women had begun a treatment at a so-called Metabolic Therapy Center on Paraná Street.

Unveiling the Fraud

The court document reveals that Prieto Gratacós, born in Havana in 1967 and living in Argentina since 1997, was charged alongside María Victoria Rodríguez Amador and Roberto Álvarez, identified as his main collaborators. The charge is fraud, specifically for claiming to sell a non-existent cancer cure in the country known for crotoxin.

Judge Martín Yadarola accused them of making false promises of recovery or increased life expectancy by offering an alleged “alternative medical treatment” based on studies and statistics lacking scientific validation. The scheme allegedly allowed them to collect various monetary payments.

Promotional Tactics

The influencer, who boasts nearly 300,000 Instagram followers, is reported to have promoted so-called revolutionary cancer therapies without any valid medical credentials. The location where he treated patients operated as an oncology clinic, though it was only licensed as a dental center.

According to Cure Compass, Prieto Gratacós was charged for promoting a fake "metabolic cure" for cancer, highlighting the ongoing issue of unverified treatments being advertised on social media.

The Treatment Scheme

The court documents detail that Prieto Gratacós claimed he could cure any cancer type, remove tumors, and extend a patient's life expectancy by 84 months. His method included 35 applications of the CISA Competitive Inhibition with Structural Analogues system, 30 applications of the metabolic induction protocol, and an antineoplastic nutrition program, KETO-MR Keto-Metabolic Rehabilitation. All treatments were billed, with fees fluctuating according to the dollar exchange rate.

Both patients began the treatment in mid-2019 after unsuccessful chemotherapy and other procedures. They collectively paid around 350,000 pesos for multiple applications.

One patient experienced side effects such as stomach acidity, prolonged dizziness, confusion, dry throat, and arm weakness. The center’s staff considered these symptoms to be typical side effects. Tragically, one of the women passed away in January 2020 and the other in May of the same year, prompting their families to file criminal charges against Prieto Gratacós and his team.

Investigation and Legal Proceedings

The Argentine Federal Police raided the facility during the investigation. The court sought assistance from the National Administration of Drugs, Food, and Medical Technology (ANMAT) to analyze the seized substances. Media reports indicated that the studies did not reveal specific risks, and medically speaking, the substances were deemed ineffective.

The Forensic Medical Corps was tasked with determining any direct causal link between the treatment and the deaths. Experts concluded that the treatment could be viewed as an alternative or complementary therapy, lacking Level 1A scientific proof, thereby preventing any definitive medical-legal conclusions.

The Defense Stance

Prieto Gratacós, in his written defense, described himself as an "author" and "self-taught" individual, asserting that he never claimed false credentials. He argued that his therapy was complementary to traditional oncology. He also mentioned that the center had hosted "four Pan-American metabolic therapy congresses," attended by specialists, including a former director of the National Cancer Institute, and claimed that the Ministry of Health showed interest in these activities.

Initially, more severe charges such as manslaughter, abandonment, illegal medical practice, and criminal association were considered. However, due to insufficient evidence, the prosecutor requested dismissing the manslaughter charge and dropped other accusations.

Despite the accusations and the center’s closure in 2020, Prieto Gratacós remained active on social media, continuing to share health and cancer-related content. The judicial process persists, focusing on the fraudulent claims of cure without scientific backing and the payments made by the patients.