Private firm hired to investigate naturopath selling fecal transplants for autism, document shows

A B.C. naturopath who claims he can treat autism with fecal transplants has been under investigation for more than two years on suspicion of making false claims, engaging in improper business relationships and violating federal drug policies, according to court documents.

A new legal filing from the College of Naturopathic Physicians of B.C. shows it appointed inspectors with the private investigation firm Paladin Risk Solutions to begin looking into those concerns about Jason Klop's business in August 2019, much earlier than has previously been reported.

That investigation, initiated by the college's inquiry committee, preceded a second one launched earlier this year when a former employee filed a complaint alleging Klop was producing fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) in a basement apartment in Abbotsford using his nephews' stool.

The revelation about the 2019 investigation is contained in the college's response to a petition from Klop, who's asked for a judge to step in and stop the probes.

The response says Klop has not responded to interview requests or other inquiries from Paladin and has not co-operated with either investigation.

"Dr. Klop has thus far refused to provide the inquiry committee with any of the financial and billing records or clinical records that have been requested nor has he responded substantively to the inquiry committee's requests for additional information around his advertising, FMT treatments, and business practices involving FMT," the college's Dec. 14 response says.

As CBC first reported in January 2020, Klop has been charging parents about $15,000 US for autistic children as young as two years old to have FMT, mainly at a clinic in the Mexican oceanside city of Rosarito.

FMT treatments involve taking bacteria and other microbes from the poop of a healthy person and transferring them to a patient either anally or orally, with the goal of restoring a normal environment inside the gut.

Right now, FMT is only approved in Canada and the U.S. for treatment of recurrent C. difficile infection that hasn't responded to other therapies.

Doctors and scientists have warned that, at the moment, any other use of this emerging therapy is experimental and carries serious risk of infection, while autistic advocates have denounced Klop's procedure as an unproven treatment that puts vulnerable children in danger.

According to the latest court document from the college, the first investigation into Klop's business was launched in response to concerns about possible contraventions of Health Canada's policy on FMT, along with alleged violations of the college's rules on false claims, prescribing authority and relationships with other businesses.

Klop is contesting college's jurisdiction

Klop has alleged that the college doesn't have the power to investigate him for activities outside B.C., or for possible violations of Health Canada policy on FMT.

The college's response argues that Klop misunderstands the role of a professional regulator, which is to protect the public from harm caused by naturopaths licensed in B.C. 

"It is well-established that self-governing professions may investigate and ultimately discipline registrants for a wide range of conduct," the response says. 

That can sometimes include work done outside the province as well as potential violations of federal law, the college argues.

Klop was ordered to stop producing, selling and advertising FMT products in August. The college posted a public notice at the time saying it was necessary to take "extraordinary action" while an investigation was underway "due to the seriousness of the alleged conduct and a real risk of harm to the public."

He has filed a separate legal petition objecting to that restriction.

Health Canada has also investigated Klop's business and as a result, he has agreed not to advertise his products to Canadian families.

None of the allegations in Klop's petitions or the college's responses have been proven in court. Klop remains a fully licensed naturopath in B.C.