Lake Worth Man Posing As Sports Medicine Doctor Busted For Selling Stem Cell Injections

Story by Brett Clarkson / Sun Sentinel

It’s game over for a Lake Worth man who purported to be a medical doctor specializing in treating sports injuries, investigators say.

Jon Rubenstein, 45, is not a physician, according to an arrest report, despite his alleged offers to provide injection therapy.

Rubenstein is accused of offering the procedure – referred to as platelet-rich plasma therapy – to injured athletes, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. It wasn’t clear how many people he had treated, but in an email he said he had helped hundreds of people, the arrest report alleged.

Investigators say that at one point he rented space in Margate, on North State Road 7, although it wasn’t clear when.

According to the website for the Georgia-based Emory Healthcare, the procedure “utilizes platelets from the athletes’ own blood to rebuild a damaged tendon or cartilage. It has been successful in not only relieving the pain, but also in jumpstarting the healing process.”

In the report, investigators noted that Rubenstein has “no medical professional licenses.” The Florida Department of Health’s website also shows that Rubenstein holds no medical licensure in the state.

The Sheriff’s Office got involved after receiving a complaint from the health department about Rubenstein, the report stated.

A Sheriff’s investigator learned that Rubenstein is the registered agent of corporate entities called Innovative Blood Technology, Inc. and The Center For Natural Healing and Regenerative Medicine, based in Margate. There was also a website for All Natural Sports Medicine, based in Lake Worth.

Investigators put an undercover agent in play, and made a phone call to Rubenstein, they said.

Rubenstein contacted the agent by email “stating he has helped hundreds of people with arthritis live a pain free life through stem cell injection therapy,” the report alleged.

Rubenstein also talked pricing: $300 for a single injection or $750 for the “full 3 shot treatment,” the report said. The email was signed Dr. Jon Rubenstein, investigators said.

An appointment was set up, with the undercover agent providing Rubenstein with a home address. Rubenstein agreed to go there to do the procedure.

On Wednesday at about 11 a.m., Rubenstein met with two undercover agents in Lake Worth. He was dressed in blue scrubs and brought medical supplies.

Officers with the Palm Beach County Diversion Task Force arrested him. In questioning, Rubenstein “admitted to performing these procedures with out holding any medical licensing,” the report said.

He explained that he has a PhD and at one point had a phlebotomy license, which was no longer active. Phlebotomists “draw blood for tests, transfusions, research, or blood donations,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.

Rubenstein, who couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday, faces a charge of unlicensed medical practice. He was held in the Palm Beach County Jail until his release Wednesday night, according to the Sheriff’s Office booking blotter.

Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report