Robert Lindsey Duncan, who has appeared on “The View” and other TV shows hawking nutritional products, was charged by the Texas Attorney General’s office on Wednesday with duping the public by claiming to be a doctor when he isn’t one.
Duncan, who usually goes by his middle name, claims he is a naturopathic doctor, which is not a recognized type of doctor under Texas law. Plus, the state said, the doctorate he claims was from the defunct “unaccredited, distance-learning” Clayton College of Natural Health. The school is on a list of institutions whose degrees are illegal to claim, the Attorney General’s Office said.
“Mr. Duncan’s acts and practices mislead the public into believing that he is disseminating health advice or knowledge, but such advice or knowledge is based on educational background and training which he does not have and when his underlying motivation is to sell products in which he has a financial interest,” the state’s lawsuit alleges.
‘Misleading and Deceptive’
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Duncan, who lives in Austin, refers to himself as a doctor and often appears on television wearing a white lab coat and “making references to clinical experience and practice” to further the belief that he is a medical professional.