Hidden camera investigation finds Canadian man peddling unproven cancer treatments in Mexico

A self-described health practitioner exposed nearly 30 years ago for selling fake HIV cures in Toronto is now peddling unproven and harmful treatments for everything from chronic pain to cancer, according to a Marketplace investigation.

The Doc of Detox — as Darrell Wolfe calls himself — has built a burgeoning alternative health operation at a resort in Ixtapa, Mexico, where he and his staff use questionable procedures and devices that are not only costly and ineffective, but can often cause egregious physical suffering. He also trains new recruits in his techniques.

"People that are grifting, or trying to take advantage of others, will take every avenue they can," said Jacob Shelley, a health law professor at Western University in London, Ont. "He's not actually providing medical care. He's not helping people. He's selling a story to try to line his own pockets…. It's preying upon people's hope."

WATCH | Self-described health practitioner shows aggressive massage technique that he says will heal a recently broken wrist:

Marketplace spoke to 21 people who described their experiences with Wolfe and his program. They said that it was akin to joining a cult; that the physical treatments bordered on "torture"; and the promises that he'd be able to cure diseases, including advanced cancer, left them feeling "foolish" and "deceived."

"He's a snake oil salesman," said Calgary woman Carla Adamarczuk, who has multiple sclerosis. "I totally bought into it. I bought all the products, bought all the supplements."

She said Wolfe promised she'd be cured and even be able to walk again, so she spent over $10,000 on his devices and supplements because of her "desperation." None of it worked.

Adamarczuk said that as a former nurse, "I should know better."

Undercover CBC Marketplace journalists — attending one of his courses in Mexico this past May — captured some of the suffering described by Wolfe's clients on hidden camera, documenting a woman with a recently broken wrist writhing and screaming in pain as Wolfe performed an unproven physical technique on her to release what he claimed was emotional trauma manifested as scar tissue.

Wolfe refers to himself as a doctor, yet he is not a licensed medical practitioner and is not qualified to treat people with serious medical issues. Still, many people Marketplace spoke to believed he was a medical physician.

WATCH | Health claims made by 'Doc of Detox' captured on hidden camera and social media:

While Wolfe advertises his services to potential clients in Canada and the United States, he largely operates from Mexico, where costs are substantially cheaper and both government scrutiny and enforcement are more lax.

Marketplace reached out to the local government in Zihuatanejo, which also governs Ixtapa, to inquire about Wolfe's operation, and did not receive a response.

Those who went to Mexico for teachings or treatment learned quickly: come with money, and at their own peril.