Juice Plus Research Blog

News reports recently uncovered by the Juice Plus Research Blog team have revealed that Dr. Meindert Albert Niemeyer, a Juice Plus distributor in Elon, NC who, subsequent to being convicted of assault and false imprisonment for sexually fondling female patients during unsupervised medical examinations, was ordered by the State Medical Board to stop selling Juice Plus.[1,2,3,4]

According to the reports, Niemeyer, who worked at the Alamance Family Practice clinic in Elon at the time the crimes took place, was forced to surrender his medical license after the North Carolina Medical Board investigated his aggressive selling of Juice Plus nutritional supplements to patients, as well as his attempts to recruit patients to sell it.

Subsequent to an investigation by the Greensboro Police Department, criminal charges were filed against Niemeyer in March of 2003 for the assault of a 21-year-old female patient. He was later tried in August 2003 in Alamance County District Court for eight counts of assault on a female and one count of false imprisonment in association with incidents involving a total of 6 patients. During the trial, the victims testified that, in addition to fondling them, Niemeyer repeatedly tried to recruit them to sell Juice Plus.

On August 25, Niemeyer was found guilty of six of the eight counts of assault and of the one count of false imprisonment, and was placed on probation. The North Carolina Medical Board suspended Niemeyer’s medical license indefinitely on May 20, 2004[5] on the basis that his criminal acts and selling of Juice Plus consituted unprofessional conduct according to North Carolina general statute 90-14.[6]

In 2006 the North Carolina Medical Board agreed to grant Niemeyer conditional reinstatement of his license with the stipulation that he must continue counseling, provide quarterly reports of his progress, obey laws and regulations, have a chaperone present when he sees female patients, and stop selling Juice Plus to patients.[7]


References

[1] Women testify that Elon doctor fondled them. The News & Record (Piedmont Triad, NC); August 7, 2003. Mike Tosczak. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-106405002.html

[2] Co-workers supportive of Elon doctor: six women accuse Dr. Meindert Niemeyer of fondling them during medical exams. The News & Record (Piedmont Triad, NC); Aug 8, 2003. Mike Tosczak. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-106433845.html

[3] Elon, N.C., doctor regains medical license. Times-News (Burlington, NC); December 23, 2004. Brandee Hayhurst. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-126407180.html

[4] Local doctor regains license under specific conditions. Krista Naposki
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/pendulum/Issues/2005/01_20/news/license.xhtml

[5] North Carolina Medical Board Physician Details: Meindert Albert Niemeyer, M.D. http://www.ncmedboard.org/Clients/NCBOM/Public/Licensee_Details.aspx?&EntityID=26746&PublicFile=1

[6] North Carolina General Statute § 90‑14. Revocation, suspension, annulment or denial of license. http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_90/gs_90-14.html

[7] North Carolina Medical Board. Meindert Albert Niemeyer, M.D; Amended consent order. http://glsuite.ncmedboard.org/DataTier/Documents/Repository/0/0/5/6/9b0732dc-0a15-4c63-994f-4f49e68a3eca.pdf