The Miracle Cure Con-Man
A supposed benefactor who won city council acclaim for his 'alcoholism cure' is arrested for fraud.
A. E. Disbrow has been arrested at his home in Creighton, Nebraska, on the charge of obtaining money under false pretenses from A. H. Hannah of Whatcom. The charge is that Disbrow sold a one-third interest to Hannah for what he represented to be exclusive control of a cure for alcoholism. Hannah later learned that the knowledge of the compound was common to the medical profession. Disbrow had previously come to Whatcom, applied his cure to inebriates in the city jail, and was lauded as a philanthropist, even securing a laudatory resolution from the city council. After collecting $3,000 from Hannah for a stake in the 'secret formula,' he fled to Nebraska, where he now faces extradition.
“He was lauded by the local force as a philanthropist and benefactor to humanity and even succeeded in having a resolution introduced by an admiring member of the city council.”
Snake-oil salesmen thrive on the intersection of desperate health needs and public gullibility. Today, these scams have shifted from local jails to unregulated online supplement markets, but the promise of a 'secret cure' remains the hallmark of the grift.
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