'Psychic' fined for claiming to cure cancer charging £900 for 'healing' seminar
A ‘psychic healer’ who was convicted for claiming he could cure cancer is now charging people almost £900 for an event where he promises to ‘treat their trauma and disease’.
The two-day seminar, held in Edinburgh this weekend, was described by critics as “quackery”, putting seriously unwell people in harm's way. Scammer Jerry Sargeant, who founded Star Magic Healing – and claims to be a reformed former bank fraudster and drug smuggler – says he developed his ‘healing’ gift after “encountering aliens” during a car crash, reports the Daily Record.
This weekend's event will involve a “group healing” session in Edinburgh’s Sheraton Grand Hotel, costing attendees £555 for one six-hour workshop, or £888 for two. Star Magic claims the sessions are sold out.
But medical experts have advised people against taking medical advice from Sargeant, as they warned self-styled healers are a danger to the public. Video footage taken at Sargeant’s healing sessions show him placing his hands on people’s heads as they shake and convulse, sometimes falling to the ground.
Professor Edzard Ernst, the UK’s first professor of alternative medicine, warned those with serious illnesses to avoid self-proclaimed healers. He said it “stood to reason” that “the worse our NHS provision becomes, the more desperate patients would consider using healing or other forms of quackery”.
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The professor claimed the "energetic fields" of psychic healing didn't really exist, and weren't proven "beyond a placebo effect". He added: "The danger is that seriously ill patients might trust the claims of the healer and ignore or not take seriously enough effective therapies for their condition."
Video footage of Sargeant’s healing sessions show him placing his hands on people’s heads as they shake and convulse (Star Magic)Sargeant on the other hand said he was a "facilitator, empowering people to do their own healing" and would "never recommend that people cease medical treatment". He also insisted that him or his group never claimed they could cure cancer. Under consumer protection laws, it's unlawful to make false claims that a product "is able to cure illnesses, dysfunction ormalformations", while the Cancer Act puts limits on ads which offer to treat cancer, or offer advice on treatment.
In 2017, Sargeant, who lives in Cheltenham, was found guilty under the act after Trading Standards flagged claims made on his website that he could cure illnesses, including cancer. He was fined £1200 and told to pay prosecution costs of £3487.25 - plus a victim surcharge of £60, bringing the total to £4,747.25. His UK-based company was dissolved in the same year, according to Companies House.
But Sargeant has carried on offering healing sessions in other countries including the US, as well as online. Services include "DNA upgrades" that "change your karmic blueprint" and use "quantum physics" to remove "blocks" stopping his customers from living "their most extraordinary lives". The Star Magic website now comes with a disclaimer but still features multiple testimonials including those from people who claim their cancer has vanished, their Parkinson's and other life-threatening or limiting conditions have been cured.
Online private healing sessions with Sargeant start at £1,000 while and an "emergency" session costs £1,500. UK Healers, the professional body regulating spiritual healers, estimates there are around 12-18,000 across the UK, adding 90 to 95 per cent do not charge for their services. A spokesperson for the organisation confirmed Sargeant was not a member.
Professor Edzard warned those with serious illnesses to avoid self-proclaimed healers (Linkedin)Sargeant told investigators at The Ferret website it could be "a massive coincidence" a man with stage four cancer "who did nothing else but our work" found "the cancer simply vanished". He added: "Whether someone is using allopathic [mainstream] medicine or alternative medicine healing, nutrition, breath work, intermittent fasting, meditation, good sleep, cold therapy doesn't matter. If they heal, they heal. It's positive and beautiful. One doesn't negate the other."
The alternative therapy market is predicted to grow to £5.9billion by 2027-28, according to a report for Business Gateway. The report cited pressure on the NHS and long waiting lists for the increase in people seeking alternative and private services.
Sargeant said he was gifted with healing powers after surviving a car crash in Romania with his family, where a woman who was with them died and he saw her spirit leave her body. He had previously advertised an Energy Healing For Cancer Treatment on his website. The advert stated his readers had come to the place "where the best cancer treatment can be found", adding a "therapeutic method developed uniquely by [Sargeant]" had been "proven" to effectively treat cancer.
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