Latest Breaking News
In reply to the discussion: Ben Carson Admits Fabricating West Point Scholarship [View all]wordpix
(18,652 posts)Relationship with Mannatech
According to a CNN headline, Carson had an "extensive relationship" from 2004 to 2014 with Mannatech, Inc., a multi-level marketing company that produces dietary supplements made from substances such as aloe vera extract and larch-tree bark.[36][37][38] Carson gave four paid speeches at company events, but he denies having been paid by Mannatech to do anything else, and says he has been a "prolific speaker" who has spoken before many groups.[39]
On August 7, 2002, Carson underwent surgery for prostate cancer,[40] and in an interview in November of that year, he stated that the surgery had successfully removed all cancerous tissue and that he was completely cured of the disease.[41] However, in a 2004 speech at a Mannatech event, Carson credited the company's products for the disappearance of his prostate cancer symptoms.[36][37] Carson's relationship with Mannatech continued after the company paid $7 million in 2009 to settle a deceptive-marketing lawsuit in Texas over claims that its products could cure autism and cancer.[42][43][36] Carson's most recent paid speech for Mannatech was in 2013, for which he was paid $42,000; his image appeared on the corporation's website as recently as 2014,[36] and in the same year he praised their glyconutrient supplements in a PBS special that was subsequently featured on the site.[44]
Carson delivered the keynote address at a Mannatech distributor convention in 2011 during which he claimed that the company had donated funds to help him get a coveted endowed chair post at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Carson had stated well three years ago I had an endowed chair bestowed upon me and uh, it requires $2.5 million to do an endowed chair and Im proud to say that part of that $2.5 million came from Mannatech. In October 2015, Carsons campaign team claimed that, in fact, there was no contribution from Mannatech to Johns Hopkins. A campaign spokesman added: It was a legitimate mistake on his part. Confusion. He had been doing some fundraising for the hospital and some other chairs about that time, and he simply got things mixed up.[45]
When questioned about his relationship with the company at the October 28, 2015, CNBC GOP debate, Carson said, "That's easy to answer. I didn't have any involvement with [Mannatech]. Total propaganda. I did a couple speeches for them. I did speeches for other people - they were paid speeches. It is absolutely absurd to say I had any kind of relation with them. Do I take the product? Yes. I think it is a good product."[46]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carson