"Danish Study" CDC Doctor who "Debunked" Autism Vaccines Link Indicted on Fraud
We have written several articles about Dr. Poul Thorsen (4th from the left in the back row with his CDC colleagues), whose research known as "The Danish Study" is quoted extensively to "debunk" the autism vaccine connection. The mainstream media was silent when he disappeared. Here are some of the posts we've run on the topic along with today's article in the Atlanta Bizjournals below. Will they give Thorsen "the Wakefield treatment" now, or have they been given their marching orders to look the other way?
Scandal Looms Over Danish Scientist by Mark Blaxill & Dan Olmsted
Danes Charge Thorsen with Tax Evasion
CDC and Thorsen Continue to Collaborate
Poul Thorsen's Mutating Resume by Mark Blaxill (a must read)
First Fraud Dr. Thorsen and The Danish Study by JB Handley
Thorsen Still In Charge of Danish Registries
Danish Scientist Absonds with Millions "Proved" Vaccines do Not Cause Autism
Thorsen and CDC Whitewash by Dr. Ed Yazbak
Breaking News Dane Indicted Today A Danish man was indicted Wednesday on charges of wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly concocting a scheme to steal more than $1 million in autism research money from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The indictment charges Poul Thorsen, 49, with 13 counts of wire fraud and nine counts of money laundering. The wire fraud counts each carry a maximum of 20 years in prison and the money laundering counts each carry a maximum of 10 years in prison, with a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.
The federal government also seeks forfeiture of all property derived from the alleged offenses, including an Atlanta residence, two cars and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
According to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, the charges and other information presented in court, Thorsen worked in the 1990s as a visiting scientist at the CDC Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, when the CDC was soliciting grant applications for research related to infant disabilities.
Thorsen promoted the idea of awarding the grant to Denmark and provided input and guidance for the research. From 2000 to 2009, the CDC awarded more than $11 million to two governmental agencies in Denmark to study the relationship between autism and exposure to vaccines, between cerebral palsy and infection during pregnancy and between childhood development and fetal alcohol exposure.
In 2002, Thorsen moved to Denmark and became the principal investigator for the grant, responsible for administering the research money awarded by the CDC.
Once in Denmark, Thorsen allegedly began stealing the grant money by submitting fraudulent documents to have expenses supposedly related to the Danish studies be paid with the grant money. He provided the documents to the Danish government, Aarhus University and Odense University Hospital, where scientists performed research under the grant.
From February 2004 through June 2008, Thorsen allegedly submitted more than a dozen fraudulent invoices, purportedly signed by a laboratory section chief at the CDC, for reimbursement of expenses that Thorsen claimed were incurred in connection with the CDC grant. The invoices falsely claimed that a CDC laboratory had performed work and was owed grant money.
Based on these invoices, Aarhus University, where Thorsen also held a faculty position, transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to bank accounts held at the CDC Federal Credit Union in Atlanta -- accounts that Aarhus University believed belonged to the CDC. The CDC Federal Credit Union accounts were instead personal accounts held by Thorsen, the federal government said.
After the money was transferred, Thorsen allegedly withdrew the fraud proceeds for his own personal use to buy a home in Atlanta, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and Audi and Honda vehicles, and to get numerous cashier’s checks.
Thorsen allegedly pocketed more than $1 million from the scheme.
DEFENCE WANTS DANISH HIGH COURT TO DISMISS PROCEEDINGS IN TAX CASE
By Ulla Danielsen, journalist, DK-Copenhagen
Danish High Court (landsretten) is going to decide whether a case of gross tax evasion should be rejected – or not at all – at the citycourt of Aarhus in Denmark.
This according to police assessor Lars Petersen from the prosecutor in Aarhus on Tuesday.
Last month, on February 15, 2012 the citycourt in Aarhus decided, that a claim by the defence to have the case of gross tax evasion dismissed, should not be granted.
But this decision has now been put before Danish High Court by the defence.
The protagonist of the tax case is former autism researcher at Danish Aarhus University (AU) Poul Thorsen.
Thorsen’s name will ring familiar to many, as his autism research was sponsored substantially by the American health agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Poul Thorsen’s councel for the defence is lawyer Jan Schneider from the Danish lawfirm of Tommy V. Christiansen. This firm is specialised in tax matters.
In 2009 the prosecution charged Poul Thorsen, with gross tax evasion concerning an amount of fully 6,4 million DKK.
For this deed the Prosecution claims, that Poul Thorsen must be punished with prison. Poul Thorsen on the other hand – according to a Danish news agency – claims that he is not guilty.
In the indictment it is stated, that Poul Thorsen during the years 2001-2005 evaded income from fees, salary or the like for 6,430,768 DKK.
By these illegal acts the Danish tax authority was evaded an income of 3,470,020 DKK.
The charged is furthermore accused of – on purpose – during 2001-2005 to have evaded the Danish tax authority 514,455 DKK in contribution to the labour market.
The case of gross tax evasion is scheduled for Friday March 9, 2012 at the court in Aarhus.
Four days have been allocated for the proceedings. However everything now depends on the ruling of Danish High Court (landsretten).
Posted by: Ann-Britt Axelsdotter | March 07, 2012 at 12:40 PM
Ryan
Yes, of course, but we must remember he hasn't been tried yet...
Posted by: John Stone | November 04, 2011 at 03:56 AM
John... Wow. I stand corrected, you're right I'm wrong. I read the article the whole way through and thought it was the other way around, again my bad, I apologize. Interesting twist actually. It would be hard to believe he was framed for backing big pharma since all the largely funded pharma P.A.C. are for vaccines... Thus this seems to prove he is a cheater and a liar. It simply amazes me these people hide that vaccines are poisoning children. Forgive my confusion.
Posted by: Ryan Morelli | November 04, 2011 at 02:31 AM
Ryan
I am afraid you've misread this. This is not "the man who is saying vaccines cause autism" this is one of the men who was hired by the CDC to say it didn't and he's been indicted for financial fraud all the same.
John
Posted by: John Stone | November 03, 2011 at 03:07 PM
John...You're not sure what I'm saying? Wait. The man who is saying vaccines cause Autism has been arrested and jailed. AM I missing something? I'm saying he was framed. Like everyone who has a large audience who tells the truth. I think it's pretty clear John. What are you saying?
Posted by: Ryan Morelli | November 03, 2011 at 02:35 PM
Ryan
I am not sure what you are saying, but of course we can't trust the Department of Justice - the frustration is that they are only investigating financial fraud and not the activities behind it, but would it not have suited everyone even better to have swept the whole thing under the carpet?
Posted by: John Stone | November 03, 2011 at 03:40 AM
Here's a question for you. Can you really trust the dept of Justice? You're kidding right? They are a bunch of crooks and theives. OF course they put this man away, he's interfering with the dark plan of dumbing down the populace and getting in the way of BILLIONS of profits. IF you don't think that BILLIONS is enough to get someone framed you should bury your head back in the sand.
Posted by: Ryan Morelli | November 03, 2011 at 01:08 AM
The scenario depicted by Barry seems most plausible to me. I can even imagine Thorson being instructed by those who hired him how exactly to claim his special reward through submitting false expense reports in such a way to circumvent CDC internal audit.
Even if Thorson decided to come clean about his part in such a campaign, the same constraints and efforts put in place to create an alternate "truth" in the MMR/Wakefield story in the media will be in place to keep Thorson from exposing anything the could directly implicate those in control in the shadows. I can even imagine that they might threaten Thorson with having Deer "handle" his story.
Posted by: Donna K | April 15, 2011 at 04:12 PM
Wherever you fall on this issue, it stands to reason that a serious indictment the alleges theft from a institutional grantor (who obviously has a team of auditors to ferret this stuff out) for personal gain should automatically trigger a serious methodical review of the entire body of work that the alleged led or contributed to. If true, a theft from the CDC represents idiocy to the nth degree (getting caught is inevitable) and implies self destructive, reckless behavior. What we have here are very serious charges of ethical violations on an unbelievably large scale.
Cheaters and thieves don't compartmentalize in my view. They also don't magically start and stop...their behavior is long lived and pervasive. Every single study this guy contributed to should be subject to intense scrutiny and review. The LB/RB crowd may prefer a more convenient "nothing to see here folks, lets move along" but any rational individual off the street and "uninvested" on this issue would likely weigh in otherwise.
Posted by: Dadvocate | April 15, 2011 at 11:23 AM
Dear Mr. Ad Hominem,
It is so funny that you accuse parents of myself of making decisions based on emotions rather than facts. My "emotions" did not convince the Dept of Justice to indict the CDC's favorite international autism/ vaccines researcher on 14 counts of fraud and theft.
If you do not like the way I characterized Poul Thorsen I suggest you take it up with the Dept of Justice. It is my understanding they pursue criminals based upon facts, rather than emotion? But maybe you know better?
To question the quality of research conducted by an man accused of corruption and theft seems like a de facto response not an "emotional " or unreasonable one . On the other hand it seems like you are the one clinging an illogical belief system re Thorsen and the CDC work based upon an emotional attachment.
However, if you have facts to share about Thorsen's innocence I am sure we would all love to them.
Posted by: Katie Wright | April 15, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Yup, love the timing. Find him and indict him....after the omnibus decisions which in part rely on his fake study.
Posted by: Jenna | April 14, 2011 at 10:01 PM
Pretty coincidental that the DOJ indictment happened to be announced on the same day that Thorsen's tax evasion case was set to begin in Denmark. What are the odds?
Posted by: Garbo | April 14, 2011 at 08:24 PM
CDC is the main guilty party here. CDC corrupted and brainless bureaucrats bribed Thornsen to produce fraudulent papers, on which they based their defense of policy of injecting poisons into infants. They continue to do so in the form of toxic flu vaccines. Some hexa vaccines also still contain about 10 micrograms of Hg per dose. Responsible for this crime against the children are the CDC officials, who should go to prison together with Thornsen. However, why American parent do not revolt against the government, which pushes toxins into their children bodies, is a mystery for me.
Posted by: veritas | April 14, 2011 at 07:21 PM
Thorsen is a despicable human being, but there’s no way this guy was dumb enough to have done what he's been accused of. I’m not saying he’s not a criminal, just that these charge seem a little trumped up
The more likely scenario is that the CDC no longer has a use for this academic prostitute. When the thimerosal scandal broke, the CDC was facing allegations that were almost too heinous to comprehend. And if those allegations weren't refuted fast, this issue had the potential to bring the entire medical industry to it's knees! Fortunes would be lost, careers would end in shame, and some pretty rich people would be facing some pretty real jail time. The CDC was in desperate need of some new “tobacco science", and Thorson was just the person to provide it.
And I guess the rest is history. Thorson delivered on the CDC’s request, and public fear was once again allayed by an industry funded study that could "find no link".
Unfortunately, Thorsons “science” was especially bad, and the fraudulent nature of his analysis was immediately apparent once the right people actually took the time to have a look. As word started to spread, the CDC now had a new problem on it's hands. Thorson's “science” reeked of a contrived effort to hide the devastating effects of mercury, and ties between Thorson and the CDC were by now well known. The CDC now had to somehow distance itself from Thorson, and the best way to do that was to start a campaign to discredit his character.
It may sound counter intuitive at first, but if you think about it, the CDC’s options were quite limited. They could look like:
a.) an organization that hired a scientist to hide the dangers of Thimerosal, or
b.) an organization that hired a respected scientist to investigate a link between Autism and Thimerosal. While this scientist concluded that “no link could be found”, a retrospective look has astonishingly revealed that his work was poorly done. At no time did the CDC knowingly mislead the public on this issue, because they honestly didn’t realize that they’d hired a criminal to investigate such an important health issue
While neither of these options makes the CDC look good, one looks a whole lot less criminal than the other. And the added bonus is that if this scientist ever decides to implicate YOU, who’s going to believe him??? He’s just a common criminal now.
Posted by: Barry | April 14, 2011 at 06:21 PM
Unfortunately we've ALL been duped into making serious healthcare decisions over the years based upon the works of thieves and frauds. That would be Big Pharma, FDA, CDC and the US government's policy of "vaccinate your child or we won't educate him/her."
Follow the money - and the power.
Posted by: Cindy Griffin | April 14, 2011 at 06:03 PM
Oh, but I am SURE is RESEARCH WORK could NEVER be fraudulent or have information made up/faked/etc, right? I mean, the Money doesnt have anything to do with the actual results of the research, they are two very seperate things OBVIOUSLY!
Now off to go puke....
Angie
Proud Mom to Ethan, Alex, and Megan
Hopefully you can hear the scarcasym from all the way over here! :P
Posted by: Angie | April 14, 2011 at 05:30 PM
Paul offit they are going to catch you next for all your fraud that you have been putting on the american people peole by lying about how safe vaccines are!!!!! The sad thing is how many lives have been ruined because this man lied about his research? I also wonder if he ever gave any testimony of any kind that may have made a difference in a legal setting? We need to look into this so things can get reversed if his information swayed one side or the other? this man needs to go to jail for a very long time!!!!!!!
Posted by: Rod | April 14, 2011 at 05:22 PM
May this be merely the first in a long list of federal indictments of tax-funded crooks in Atlanta, Bethesda, and Washington, D.C.
Let the CDC fumigation begin.
Posted by: nhokkanen | April 14, 2011 at 04:28 PM
Well said, Bob Moffitt. They do belong in jail with him. I think the cell is going to be pretty crowded...
Posted by: 4Bobby | April 14, 2011 at 03:42 PM
@Diane W. Farr:
It seems that even though the article you found has been disappeared from LeftBrain/RightBrain website, archives, google cache, etc., Letch cross-posted it at another website here, where you can still find it:
http://tinyurl.com/thorsenlbrb2010
The excerpt you were curious about was not from Thorsen, however, but was a reference to an unrelated email scam.
The post is a criticism of AOA's reporting on Thorsen last year, chiding AoA for calling Thorsen "missing" and for not being more skeptical of the charges against Thorsen. I have saved a copy in case this link disappears too.
Posted by: Garbo | April 14, 2011 at 03:40 PM
katie wright = ad hominem
Posted by: GH | April 14, 2011 at 02:45 PM
http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/poul-thorsen-us1m-mmr-fraud/
Also:
http://www.taap.info/DanishStudy2005.pdf
Posted by: John Stone | April 14, 2011 at 02:11 PM
How could Dr. Thorsen, be so wrong now when the CDC said he was so right? Just goes to show there is no overview at the CDC unless it is pointed out from somewhere else.
Posted by: victor pavlovic | April 14, 2011 at 02:04 PM
Thorsen's bank records would be very interesting. I wonder how many large deposits he has made other than the ones related to the CDC 11 million?
Posted by: kathleen | April 14, 2011 at 01:44 PM
Katie,
As I recall from a batch of CDC memos, it was the other way around. Based on the fact that Thimerosal (ethylmercury) is a strong form of neurotoxin (fries brain neurons), CDC officials were weak and sought Thorsen and others in the CDC anti-litigation bloc of autism research out because THEY wanted to make the causal relationship between Thimerosal and Autism go away.
CDC officials were caught between a rock and a hard place because, as Neal Halsey stated, "no one had done the calculation".
"An expert is an ordinary fellow from another town." - Dr. J. Vernon McGee
Posted by: Kerbob1 | April 14, 2011 at 12:38 PM
Who would make serious health care decisions based upon the work of a thief and a fraud.
Come on CDC, you cannot be serious.
Posted by: Katie Wright | April 14, 2011 at 10:16 AM
Yes, Anne, we are all looking forward to the media coverage over this- the Today Show, Matt Lauer, Dr. Nancy, CNN and Dr. Gupta. Bring it on!
Posted by: Jen | April 14, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Say it isn't so Dr. Offit... Sadly, Dr. Thorsen is taking money that could have been used to support corrupt scientists here in the USA.
Looking for Dr. Offit and Dr. Nancy to go on NBC and "calm fears" that the vaccine program is still safe.
The "science" of the multi-million dollar Thorsen work is still good.... Denmark banned Thimerosal in 1992, set up a Registry, and parents registered their "vaccine injured" children.
This "proves" that Thimerosal does not cause Autism, there should be no need for further study.
Posted by: cmo | April 14, 2011 at 10:04 AM
I did a google news search on Dr. Poul Thorsen; noticed this link dated last March http://iplextra.indiatimes.com/article/02pT6jh24ldI4
Headline: Update: Dr. Poul Thorsen not missing, NOT suspected in theft.....what follows looks like a letter from Paul to possibly Kevin? How are you doing?I hope you get this on time. Am sorry i did not inform you about my travelling to United kingdom for a program.I can barely think or type straight at this moment.Something really terrible is happening to me right now and I will be... Full Article at Left Brain/Right Brain .......there isn't a full article at the link? What is the India Times, is Paul and Kevin friends? It's obvious the CDC paid him to find the answers they were looking for. Did the CDC also advise him how to launder money to himself? Maybe this is why the CDC could care less that the money was missing?
Posted by: Diane W Farr | April 14, 2011 at 08:52 AM
I wonder how many CDC "officials" are losing sleep each night .. waiting for the mail containing summons to appear before a federal grand jury .. investigating Thorsen's fraudulent activities?
Is it possible that Dr. Thorsen may "come clean" to save himself .. which means .. give incriminating testimony of promises he made as to the conclusions he would reach .. prior to the CDC "hand-picking" him .. to lead critical research regarding any link between vaccines and autism.
If testimony of such an arrangement is made .. those CDC officials should share his cell.
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | April 14, 2011 at 08:45 AM
This was interesting...
"According to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, the charges and other information presented in court, Thorsen worked in the 1990s as a visiting scientist at the CDC Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, when the CDC was soliciting grant applications for research related to infant disabilities.
Thorsen promoted the idea of awarding the grant to Denmark and provided input and guidance for the research. From 2000 to 2009, the CDC awarded more than $11 million to two governmental agencies in Denmark to study the relationship between autism and exposure to vaccines, between cerebral palsy and infection during pregnancy and between childhood development and fetal alcohol exposure.
In 2002, Thorsen moved to Denmark and became the principal investigator for the grant, responsible for administering the research money awarded by the CDC."
---------
As suggested, the CDC anti-litigation bloc of Autism research faces much more. This combination in restraint of trade inevitably must come to light.
Posted by: Media Scholar | April 14, 2011 at 07:15 AM
Reuters carries the story here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-crime-research-funds-idUSTRE73C8JJ20110413
Posted by: JenB | April 14, 2011 at 01:43 AM
I have to believe he expected the CDC or someone to automatically cover these "grants." The more egregious fraud, IMO, that he committed involved more than just himself.
Posted by: JenB | April 14, 2011 at 01:05 AM
This proves it - the only thing vaccine researchers care about is money - kids with autism? We don't need no stinkin kids with autism - We have a Harley and a condo in Atlanta
Posted by: Milson | April 14, 2011 at 12:18 AM
so he sold out 1 in 110 kids for a house, a Harley, and two cars?
seems petty in comparison to Offit's greed and acts of malfeasance.
Posted by: Dad2one | April 13, 2011 at 11:50 PM
Oops. Make that "Boyd" Haley in earlier post.
Posted by: Carol | April 13, 2011 at 09:52 PM
I think this study is Thorsen's most infamous and it's the study cited most often to discount a connection between thimerosal and autism: http://14studies.org/pdf/HG_2.pdf
Starting around 7:00 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Boyed Haley discuss this study without pulling their punches:
http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/03/robert-f-kennedy-jr-interviews-dr-boyd-haley-on-mercury-toxicity-alzheimers-and-autism.html
Posted by: Carol | April 13, 2011 at 09:51 PM
For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. - Jesus
LUKE 8:17 NKJV
Posted by: Adam M | April 13, 2011 at 09:43 PM
@John Stone - Wakefield's research was about MMR and GI disease which potentially lead to autism. I'm sure you meant that, but Aussie Mum seemed to be talking about Thorsen.
@AussieMum - I believe you are correct that Thorsen's research was regarding the use of Thimerasol in vaccines. Despite the many flaws in his study, it is routinely pulled out as the "proof" that vaccines and autism are unrelated.
Posted by: kt38 | April 13, 2011 at 09:39 PM
Seems to me that they've already ignored it. Google news his name and you only come up with 6 articles *(41 to start, but then you click the "All 41 articles" link and you come up with 6).
Lovely media at it again. Looking at keepin' dem pharma ad dollars!
Posted by: Kevin | April 13, 2011 at 08:49 PM
Zoey
Thorsen in fact co-authored a whole series of vaccine autism related papers.
Posted by: John Stone | April 13, 2011 at 08:18 PM
AussieMom, no, his "research" was not on thimerosal. His "research" involved the hypothetical link between autism and the MMR and there has never been any thimerosal in the MMR. It IS however, one of the two most commonly quoted studies used to say, "The research has spoken. There is no link between vaccines and autism."
I love how the "opposition" thinks we are as stupid as they are. They really think that our caution regarding vaccines is all about Wakefield's 1998 paper. I guess if they are relying on two badly-designed studies for their opinions then it makes sense for them to think we are equally uninformed.
Posted by: Zoey O'Toole | April 13, 2011 at 08:03 PM
For years we were told that "the Danish study" disproved any link. It was the proof that vaccines don't cause autism.
This is a scandal. Wasn't that what Dr. Wakefield was accused of? Didn't we hear about the GMC hearings, the Lancet piece being pulled and his license to practice medicine being revoked? Weren't Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper giving us lots of coverage of Andrew Wakefield?
We're all looking forward to CNN's reporting on the Poul Thorsen fraud.
Anne Dachel, Media
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | April 13, 2011 at 07:47 PM
Australia
Didn't the American courts rely on his well-researched, well-informed study to find that there was no link between Thiomersal and Autism?
And now we see a man coming "unstuck" because of greed (BIG PHAMA's prerequisite when recruiting), who next- perhaps Paul Offit or even Brian Deer.
If we wait patiently enough, more will be added to the list of the very "corruptible" Poul Thorsen's.
Mum to 9yr old, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Global Development Delay, Autistic Disorder, non-verbal and definitely Vaccine Injured son.
Posted by: AussieMum | April 13, 2011 at 07:14 PM
Well, now that his ethics are clear, so is the quality of his research. Dirt.
Posted by: K.AnnKnudson | April 13, 2011 at 06:44 PM