Notorious Scientology doc David Minkoff added to lawsuit in Whitney Mills death

We’ve expected this development for weeks now, but that doesn’t lessen the impact of the new documents now that they’re here. Wow, this is everything we’ve been waiting for.

Leila Mills and her attorney Ramon Rasco yesterday filed an amended complaint in their wrongful death lawsuit regarding the May 13, 2022 suicide of Leila’s daughter, 40-year-old Whitney Mills. The new version of the lawsuit adds the notorious Scientology doctor, David Minkoff, and his Clearwater clinic, LifeWorks Wellness Center, to the list of defendants which already included six Church of Scientology entities.

The lawsuit is largely the same except for much more detail about how Whitney Mills was treated by Minkoff and his clinic.

On June 14, we posted the entire original lawsuit, which you can revisit, describing how Whitney’s complaints about severe mental anguish were handled by her Scientology advisers, who suggested she “drop the body” — in other words, end this lifetime and start another, as Scientologists believe that we are immortal “thetans” who go from one body to another over the eons.

Those allegations are the same in the amended complaint. But what we’re going to show you here is the section on Minkoff and his clinic, most of which is new…

Dr. David Minkoff M.D. and LifeWorks

62. Defendant Dr. Minkoff graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical school in 1974. He is board certified in pediatrics and completed a fellowship in Infectious Diseases. In addition to his traditional medical training, Dr. Minkoff also practices alternative medicine. Dr. Minkoff holds himself out to be an expert in infection diseases, Lyme disease and in cancer.

63. Dr. Minkoff is a high-ranking member of Scientology.

64. Dr. Minkoff has a history of treating fellow Scientologists, and at least in one instance, his treatment may have contributed to the death of his patient.

65. In 1995, Lisa McPherson was a 36-year-old woman and Clearwater resident who suffered from a psychotic episode after a minor traffic accident. In order to avoid psychiatric intervention, fellow Scientologists convinced her to leave Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater and seek care at Flag Base. They did not want her to be sent to a mental hospital or institution. At Flag Base, she was held against her will for 17 days without appropriate medical care until she died.

66. An administrative law Judge concluded that even though Dr. Minkoff had never actually met Ms. McPherson, he prescribed sedative medication (valium and chloral hydrate) by telephone to Scientology staff members who had called on her behalf. See Department of Health, Board of Medicine v. David Minkoff, M.D., Case No. 00-0023, State of Florida Division of Administrative Hearings.

67. Although admitting no guilt, Dr. Minkoff reached a $100,000 settlement in 1997 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by McPherson’s estate.

68. Also in 1997, Dr. Minkoff co-founded LifeWorks as an alternative medicine medical clinic in Clearwater, Florida.

69. Following an investigation, in 2001 the Florida Board of Medicine fined Dr. Minkoff $10,000 and suspended his license for one year followed by two years of probation for his involvement in McPherson’s care. Dr. Minkoff also lost his license in California due to his care and treatment of McPherson, and he is currently not licensed in California.

Mills’ childhood and early twenties

70. Mills was born on December 7, 1981, in Clearwater, Florida to Leila and Donald Mills. Mills’ father passed away in 2000 when Mills was 18, and she is survived by her mother, brother, and sister.

71. Mills received an Associate’s Degree and completed her real estate license. She established a very successful real estate practice working for brokerage MavRealty, LLC.

Mills joins Scientology

72. In 2007, at the age of 26, Mills joined Scientology at the invitation of her friend Laura.

73. Mills quickly rose the ranks of Scientology and in 2019 at the age of 37 years old Mills was ultimately certified at the highest level of Scientology, OT 8. Her graduation ceremony was aboard the Freewinds.

74. Mills continued receiving auditing sessions and learning about Scientology including in the weeks and days leading up to her death such as in May 2022 when she completed certifications such as the “Super Power Rundown,” where she was taught that she can cause herself to have infinite power, including immunity from illnesses and disease. Upon information and belief, Dr. Minkoff and/or LifeWorks had to give Mills medical clearance to participate in the Super Power Rundown.

Mills gets an interview from the Director of Processing

75. In late 2021, Mills began to complain she was experiencing severe anxiety episodes to the point where it was very difficult for her to sleep. She had an elevated heart rate and had loss of appetite. Her symptoms were so severe, causing lack of sleep and elevated heart rate (Tachychardia), that she ended up in the emergency room of Morton Plant Hospital in December 2021 and again in January 2022.

76. Mills went in to get an interview by the Director of Processing who was responsible for creating a plan to treat her. The Director of Processing had Mills go to two clinics, LifeWorks (more fully described below) and Root Cause Medical Clinic (“Root Cause”) located in Clearwater. At Root Cause she was treated by Drs. Vikki and Rick Petersen. The Petersens are not medical doctors but instead, according to their website, hold doctorates in Physical Medicine through their degree in Chiropractic. The Petersens are also Scientologists.

Mills is treated by Dr. Minkoff and LifeWorks

77. Whitney Mills had been a patient at LifeWorks since October 2015, and Dr. Minkoff was acting as her primary care physician. Since at least May 31, 2017, LifeWorks, through its employee Sue Morgan, ARNP (advanced registered nurse practitioner), had diagnosed Whitney Mills with “polycystic ovaries” and “swollen lymph.” A LifeWorks record from October 31, 2017, also signed by Morgan, states that Mills had “large ovarian cysts,” describing “R+L complex cystic masses – Results of U/S discussed – Needs MRI.” Nurse Morgan failed to properly diagnose and treat these “ovarian cysts.”

78. On November 2, 2021, at the behest of the Scientology Defendants, Mills received a medical authorization from LifeWorks, signed by Sue Morgan, to attend a “perception rundown,” a super power rundown described by Scientology as requiring “special equipment and rooms for delivery, which includes drilling of all 57 perceptions to restore native thetan abilities.” The rundown includes the use of a low gravity machine (listed by the Scientology Defendants as “UNSAFE”), a body position machine (likewise deemed “UNSAFE” because it moves the body into different positions including “upside down”), an endocrine chair (designed to “create a strong adrenaline reaction”), a barriers station (where “strong magnets” are used), a taste drilling station (where a person “consumes numerous flavor pellets” which are “chemically formulated”), saline content of cells station (where a “person ingests quantities of salt while drilling”).

79. Nurse Sue Morgan at LifeWorks approved Mills to participate in this rundown, but as to the unsafe body position and low gravity machines, she cautioned, “advance as tolerated due to history of motion sickness.” It is unclear why Dr. Minkoff did not sign this form as the form is labeled “Medical Report and Doctor’s Consent to Participation” and requires a doctor’s signature.

80. On January 11, 2022, Mills returned to LifeWorks and complained to Morgan that she had anxiety, trouble sleeping, and loss of appetite.

81. On February 17, 2022, filling out a LifeWorks questionnaire provided by Minkoff and Morgan, she rated on the scale of 0-4 (with 0 being almost never and 4 described the effect as severe), that her depression, anxiety, mood swings, and irritability were each at a score of 5 (more than the maximum score allowed). She further stated she was suffering from headaches, was underweight, lethargic, fatigued, and had poor memory.

82. Mills began suffering chronic daily debilitating headaches, hallucinations, depression, lethargy, and even reported that her skin felt like it was on fire. Mills’ condition was so severe that she often found it difficult to leave the home or do regular daily activities such as bathing.

83. Until 2022, Mills was seen at LifeWorks primarily by Sue Morgan. On February 22, 2022, Dr. Minkoff examines Mills for the first time. He had been contacted by a “Jarrod K,” a Scientologist at FSO requesting that he personally see her. Dr. Minkoff agreed.

84. On February 22, 2022, after seeing Mills, Dr. Minkoff sent an email with his “Medical Report” to Jarrod with his “pertinent findings,” including “1. Mold 2. Auto immune 3. Retro virus 4. Babesia infection (this is a Lyme coinfection) 5. Mass in her abdomen on the left side about baseball sized . . . 6 Dysbiosis secondary to Cipro . . . . 7 Cranial cervical dysfunction . . . .”

85. Dr. Minkoff’s February 22nd email also described a 10-part treatment plan consisting of ivermectin, herbs and homeopathics for the Babesia, IASIS (microcurrent), IV ozone, myers, glutathione IV, Hocatt, peptide therapy and mold toxin binders. These latter alternative medicine treatments were pricey, not covered by Mills’ insurance and of questionable efficacy. The treatments were geared toward detoxifying Mills’ “central nervous system brain inflammation,” reducing inflammation and immune balancing. Dr. Minkoff also ordered a “Stat MRI and ultrasound of her abdomen to evaluate mass.”

86. Dr. Minkoff concluded his February 22nd email saying, “I think she felt better knowing that there was actually something wrong with her that could [sic] improved.” There was something wrong with her; unfortunately, Dr. Minkoff led her to believe it was physical, not psychological.

87. By late February, Mills texts Dr. Minkoff stating, “the pressure in my head is so intense, won’t seem to go away no matter what I did. Is there anything that can help relieve it … Can I take steroids? The pressure is so bad, I can’t get out of bed. Or is there something else that would help?”

88. Dr. Minkoff responds, “Are you taking anything for pain? We could try a diuretic. Does caffeine help? Have you ever used migraine meds?” Mills texts back, “I’ve taken advil but it doesn’t relieve the pressure. I tried coffee too and it didn’t help. I would be willing to try a diuretic and no I haven’t taken migraine meds but willing to at this point. Will this go away when the Lyme is gone?” Minkoff responds, “Yes. Did you start the ivermectin…” Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic and is not used to treat Lyme disease. Minkoff had also diagnosed Mills with Babesia, a type of parasite, and the Ivermectin was purportedly treating that issue.

89. Over the course of the next several months, Mills would text Minkoff constantly begging for Minkoff to help her with her mental illness stating, “Is there anything else for the mental part? I’m seriously experiencing some mental illness. This is my biggest symptom is the mental part.

90. The level of quackery in Dr. Minkoff’s response is nothing short of astounding: “Got it. Got it. Drugs could numb you but you are OT. Put TR O in. It’s a sensation. It’s noise. It has no power over YOU. That’s the truth. Eye of the tiger. You are loved. You have friends and LRH. Duplicate it. Dissolve it. That is your power. You can be tone 40 with your TR O. That’s you as cause. I know you can. ML, dm.”

91. Weeks later, on April 13, 2022, just under a month before her death, Mills texts Minkoff again stating, “Ok, is there anything else for the mental problems? I’m REALLY struggling with that part. This is the hardest part to be acting insane when I’m not.” Minkoff does not reply directly to this message.

92. On April 15, 2022, Dr. Minkoff prescribed “selank and semax” to Mills. Both drugs are nootropic, anxiolytic peptides developed in Russia. Neither drug is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Moreover, they are banned by the FDA because they have a “high risk of immune reactions and impurities during the compounding process.” Selank is purportedly used to prevent and treat anxiety and depression. Semax is used for a broad range of conditions, including brain trauma, and is believed to enhance levels of important neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, which are important for mood regulation and cognitive function. Dr. Minkoff should have been prescribing antidepressants and antianxiety medications rather than banned peptide drugs.

93. Dr. Minkoff personally saw Mills on April 20, 2022, at LifeWorks, and he again indicated “mold” and “babesia,” as well as a “pelvic mass” on his chart. She remained a patient of LifeWorks and Dr. Minkoff until her death.

94. Instead of appropriately dealing with Mills’ mental health crisis, Minkoff diagnosed and began treating Mills for Lyme disease, including potential neurological Lyme disease (or chronic Lyme disease, as Dr. Minkoff calls it). Lyme disease is a common diagnosis among Scientologists, as a catch-all to explain a host of symptoms that would otherwise be attributed to a mental health issue.

95. According to the CDC, Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia bacteria spread by the bite of an infected blacklegged tick. It is more commonly found in this country in the Northeast and upper Midwest and is rare in Florida. There is no evidence that Mills visited the Northeast or Midwest in the last two years of her life. Once the tick bite occurs, there is a “bullseye” type rash that occurs on the skin. Again, there is no evidence that Mills had such a rash. According to the CDC, most cases of Lyme disease can be treated with 10 to 14 days of antibiotics.

96. Neurological Lyme disease occurs when the Lyme disease bacteria affects the peripheral or central nervous system. The symptoms for neurological Lyme disease include numbness, pain, weakness, facial palsy/droop (paralysis of the facial muscles), visual disturbances, and meningitis symptoms such as fever, stiff neck, and severe headache. Treatment for neurological Lyme disease consists of administrating either oral antibiotics such as doxycycline, amoxicillin, cefuroxime, and azithromycin, or intravenous antibiotics such as ceftriaxone.

97. Despite his diagnosis of Lyme disease or neurological Lyme disease, Dr. Minkoff did not prescribe any of the above antibiotics, or any antibiotic at all to Mills. Instead, Dr. Minkoff prescribed Mills Ketorolac, a NSAID used to relieve moderately severe pain after an operation or painful procedure, and Furosemide, a diuretic used to treat fluid retention, inflammation and swelling. In addition, one of the most common symptoms of neurological Lyme disease is facial droop/palsy. Mills did not have that symptom.

98. Dr. Minkoff also diagnosed Mills with babesia, a parasite transmitted by the same tick that causes Lyme disease. However, babesia is less likely to affect the neurological system, and only a spinal tap would confirm whether it is affecting neurological function, something Dr. Minkoff did not do. For the babesia, Dr. Minkoff prescribed Mills Ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug. Prior to her death, Mills found out she did not have babesia based on a PCR test that Dr. Minkoff ordered, but still believed she had Lyme.

99. Dr. Minkoff used a PCR test to detect the presence of microbial DNA that could cause Lyme disease and co-infections like Babesia. Established members of the medical community, including but not limited to the FDA, CDC, Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, do not recommend PCR tests to diagnose Lyme disease. The gold standard for testing Lyme is a twotiered, serologic (blood antibody) strategy using an enzyme-linked immuno-assay (ELISA) test followed by a Western blot test. LifeWorks and Dr. Minkoff did not conduct this two-tiered antibody test.

100. The PCR test that Dr. Minkoff ordered did not find Babesia but did find microbes for “B. burgdorferi Osp A-IND” and “Borrelia recurrentis-NPS.” The test itself was based on a sample of Mills’ urine and provides a disclaimer stating, “DNA Connexions is not a clinical diagnostic laboratory and cannot provide a diagnosis for disease. . . . This information alone should not be used to diagnose and/or treat a health problem or disease.” The findings from the DNA Connexions report were insufficient to diagnose Lyme disease and may have indicated a false positive.

101. In addition, despite having knowledge of Mills’ cyst since 2017, Dr. Minkoff also diagnosed Mills with a cancerous cyst in one of her ovaries, stating on March 26, 2022, “Whitney came for a consult a few weeks ago. On her exam I found a large mass in her pelvis. It is a very large ovarian cancer born out by MRI and PET scan.”

102. There was no evidence in the records that Dr. Minkoff took a biopsy of the mass or was otherwise able to diagnose the cyst as cancerous or malignant. That cyst was later proved not to be cancerous during Mills’ autopsy, which clearly shows that it was benign. Specifically, the May 16, 2022, autopsy report found:

A large cystic multilocular – 22x14x18 cm – neoplastic lesion was in the pelvic cavity (1400 gm) filled with yellowish liquid material. . . . There were no obvious tissue necrosis or enlarged lymph nodes. No obvious metastatic lesions present. This large ovarian neoplastic lesion is consistent with serous cystadenoma of the ovary.

Autopsy Report at 5. A serous cystadenoma of the ovary is a benign lesion usually with a good prognosis. Tissue necroses, enlarged lymph nodes and metastatic lesions would all be findings consistent with cancer, yet none was observed.

103. Dr. Minkoff’s cancer misdiagnosis of Mills caused her great consternation and exacerbated her psychosis. Dr. Minkoff referred Mills to a gynecological oncologist to surgically remove the cyst, but Mills did not want to go under general anesthesia with the severe “brain inflammation” and “mental illness” she was experiencing and reporting to LifeWorks and Dr. Minkoff. LifeWorks and Dr. Mills failed to properly treat Mills’ mental symptoms in accordance with the standard of care.

104. But for Dr. Minkoff’s cancer misdiagnosis, Mills would not have thought she was terminally ill and would not have self-harmed.

Expert Attestations

105. Plaintiff retained Dr. Richard Berg, MD, who is board certified and fellowship trained in infectious diseases and internal medicine. Dr. Berg has opined that LifeWorks, Dr. Minkoff and Nurse Morgan deviated from the prevailing professional standard of care by not conducting a differential diagnosis and by failing to refer her to a psychologist or psychiatrist. Dr. Berg states that “It is my medical opinion that neurological Lyme Disease and the benign ovarian cyst were red herrings in this case. The evidence shows that the ovarian cyst was non-cancerous and Whitney Mills more likely than not did not have Lyme Disease.” Dr. Minkoff’s failure to conduct a differential diagnosis and failure to identify that Mills was suffering from a mental health crisis “resulted in the death of patient via suicide, which otherwise could have been prevented had she received the appropriate care.”

106. Dr. Berg also opined that Dr. Minkoff did not perform the necessary tests to have sufficient evidence to confirm a diagnosis of neurological Lyme Disease, including a blood test to detect antibodies and a spinal tap. The one test Dr. Minkoff did order, a brain MRI without contrast, came back normal and cannot support a diagnosis of neurological Lyme disease, and he should have ordered an MRI with and without contrast to determine whether there were any issues with Mills’ brain activity.

107. Lastly, Dr. Berg opined that the text messages Dr. Minkoff wrote to Mills, “particularly when he tells her to control her anxiety and depression through Scientology, were completely inappropriate and fell below the standard of care for a physician, regardless of his beliefs.”

108. In addition to Dr. Berg, Plaintiff also submitted the affidavits of Michelle M. Boudreau, D.O., a doctor who is fellowship trained and board certified in neurology and neurophysiology, and Bill D. Geis, Ph.D, professor of psychiatry and licensed psychologist. The affidavits of Drs. Berg, Boudreau and Geis, along with Plaitiff’s pre-suit notice, are attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference. Drs. Boudreau and Geis also attest that LifeWorks and Dr. Minkoff deviated from the prevailing standard of care, causing or substantially contributing to Mills’ self-harm.

As you can see, the allegations against Minkoff are just stunning. And we look forward to reading your reactions to them.

But the thing that really grabs us is the reference to the “Perceptics” contraptions at the Flag Building, (a/k/a the Super Power Building) at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater.

The fifth floor of the building contains the futuristic hallways and doodads that are supposed to test the 57 “perceptics” that founder L. Ron Hubbard said went beyond our normal senses. Over the years, we’ve shown you many images from that famous floor, as well as the nutty testimonials that Scientologists put out about their experiences there…

Now, all these years later (the Flag Building opened in 2013), we’re stunned to see that saline-measuring contraption mentioned in the Whitney Mills wrongful death lawsuit.

Here we were under the impression that the Super Power gadgets were merely Space Age bunkum designed to separate gullible Scientologists from their cash. We never would have thought it would be used for something so reprehensible as a replacement for legitimate mental health care.

What’s it going to take? When the hell is law enforcement in this country going to take this stuff seriously and investigate what goes on in that building?

So now, Dr. Minkoff and the Scientology defendants will have to answer the lawsuit. If you remember, the Scientology defendants were supposed to answer the lawsuit by late July, but they asked for a delay.

They based that delay on two points. First, that Leila Mills and her attorney had already notified Minkoff that they intended to add him to the lawsuit after a 90-day notification period that would run out in August. So the Scientology defendants wanted to see those new allegations before they answered the suit.

And the Scientology lawyers also asked for the delay because, if you remember, they said they believed that they had found new information and if they could just sit down with Ms. Mills’ attorney, they could talk her into dropping the lawsuit.

But judging by the new amended complaint, Ms. Mills is not backing down. And she’s bringing experts who are explaining in clear language what a quack David Minkoff is.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what Minkoff’s famous daughter, handbag designer and The Real Housewives of New York cast member Rebecca Minkoff, thinks of those allegations?

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