Dr. Mark Geier, Entities and Relationships Bob Apthorpe 10 May 2011

Inverting the Pharma Shill Narrative: Dr. Mark Geier, Entities and Relationships Bob Apthorpe 10 May 2011

Tiring of the antivax/autism industry’s ’pharma shill gambit’ and evidence-free notions of conspiracy, an experiment is performed in internet research using recently-discredited doctor Mark A. Geier as a seed. The process of mining veriﬁable public databases for entities and relationships is explored, detailed with several examples. The limits of the technique are noted and the distinction between real and faux conspiracy theorists is revealed.

On the Origin of a Research Project

It wouldn’t be a witch hunt if you people didn’t cast spells and ﬂy around on brooms

A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words, so a few weeks ago I started mapping out entities and relationships in the anti-vaccination/autism industry1. I call it an industry because no 1 A subset of the full map is attached at small amount of money is involved when you consider all the dubi- the end of this essay ous supplements, devices, tests, and treatments sold (some paid for by insurance, properly and otherwise), the monetary awards under the VICP 2 and the fees booked by attorneys and expert witnesses, 2 United States Department of Health the money raised through conferences and donations, speakers fees, and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. National book royalties, etc., etc. Surely this pales in comparison to the amount Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, of money pharmaceutical companies spend developing new drugs, May 2011. URL http://www.hrsa.gov/ vaccinecompensation testing them for safety and efficacy to win licensing approval from the FDA as well as the money they make selling those drugs and vaccines. Nobody would argue that; however, the appearance of a conflict of interest is not evidence of malfeasance. Arguing that it is is a rhetorical technique known as ‘poisoning the well’ 3. Accusing one’s 3 Wikipedia. Poisoning the Well, May opponent of being in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry even 2011b. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Poisoning_the_well without the appearance of a conflict of interest occurs with such fre- quency in arguments about vaccination and autism that it has been nicknamed the ‘pharma shill gambit.’ 4 It being such a common, ju- 4 Orac. The "pharma shill" gambit : venile and diversionary tactic got me thinking – if I’m part of some Respectful Insolence, August 2005. URL http://goo.gl/jTZsb vast-yet-poorly-concealed conspiracy for simply arguing that vaccines are safe and effective and don’t cause autism, then could it be my opponent is also a member of a vast-yet-poorly-concealed conspiracy too? After all, Dr. Andrew Wakefield 5 was paid over £400,000 5 Sarah Boseley. Andrew Wake- by a personal injury lawyer to find a link between the MMR vaccine field struck off register by General Medical Council | Society | The Guardian, May 2011. URL http://www. guardian.co.uk/society/2010/may/24/ andrew-wakefield-struck-off-gmc inverting the pharma shill narrative: dr. mark geier, entities and relationships 2

and autism6. He also held a patent on a single vaccine which stood 6 Brian Deer. Brian Deer investi- to replace the combined MMR vaccine had his hypothesis been con- gates MMR - legal aid funding, May 2011. URL http://briandeer.com/ firmed. He disclosed neither of those facts in his now-retracted paper wakefield/legal-aid.htm. How An- in the Lancet nor during his press conference which kicked off the drew Wakefield was paid to attack MMR, investigation by Brian Deer UK MMR scare. And yes, I know Dr. Paul Offit held a patent on the rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq currently produced by Merck. The differ- ence is that Offit has never caused a national panic while deliberately omitting that he stood to gain handsomely from said panic. Regardless, a conspiracy7 needs more than one actor and multiple 7 In this case, a faux conspiracy; the actors imply links between them. distinction will become apparent later. So I did what any good faux conspiracy theorist does: I began researching.

Reading is Fundamental

How?Simple.Read a book. I read two: Autism’s False Prophets8 8 Paul A. Offit. Autism’s False Prophets: and Deadly Choices9, both by my unindicted co-conspirator and Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. Columbia Univer- Pharma Shill First Class with Oak Leaf Cluster, Paul Offit. If he sity Press, 2008. URL http://www. knew about a pretend anti-vaccination industry conspiracy, surely worldcat.org/isbn/9780231146361 9 he would have identified the major players in one of his books. Paul A. Offit. Deadly choices : how the anti-vaccine movement threatens us all. 10 But where to start? Since he’s in the news this week , I’ll pick Basic Books, 2011. URL http://www. Dr. Mark A. Geier as a representative member of my opposing faux worldcat.org/isbn/9780465023561 10 conspiracy. Put his name into Google and see what turns up. Maybe This was written on May 5th 2011. Dr. Geier’s medical license was suspended he’s published in a journal, maybe he runs an organization, maybe he in an emergency action in Maryland speaks at conferences, maybe he testifies as an expert witness11. Who Chicago Breaking News. Trib Update: knows? Google does. Write this information down someplace. Md. suspends autism doctor’s license - chicagotribune.com, May 2011. URL So far, a single player isn’t much of a faux conspiracy. I would http://goo.gl/HzQiN. Byline: Steve need to show a web of players and evidence of the relationships be- Mills and Patricia Callahan 11 In fact, he does all of these things tween them. The nice thing about the internet is that you can fairly quickly confirm facts printed in books (a good faux conspiracy theorist trusts no one and confirms his or her sources.) It also helps if you read books with references to sources. It wasn’t difficult to con- nect Dr. Geier to the “Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc.” given the well-documented problems with its institutional review board (IRB) 12. 12 Kathleen Seidel. neurodiversity As a medical research outfit, the Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc. weblog: An Elusive Institute, June 2006. URL http://goo.gl/sTFD7 would probably be set up as a non-profit and that non-profit would likely have to be registered with the federal and state governments if it wanted to take advantage of being tax-free and offer tax deduc- tions for donations. Having served on the board of directors of a national non-profit organization, I know a little about the non-profit world. For one thing, you still have to file statements with the IRS, and for another, those statements are a matter of public record. So, inverting the pharma shill narrative: dr. mark geier, entities and relationships 3

should you want information about the Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., you can go to a website devoted to research into non-proﬁts such as the National Center for Charitable Statistics. If you are very lucky, they will have a search engine and links to IRS ﬁlings13. Select 13 National Center for Charitable pages of IRS Form 990 for the Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc. are Studies. NCCS - Search Active Organizations, May 2011b. URL appended to this essay. http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/ PubApps/search.php I Am Not A Number, I Am A Free Man. Maybe Both.

One of the useful bits of information about an organization is it’s Employer ID Number, or EIN. This is akin to a Social Secu- rity number for corporations. The EIN of the Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc. is 203444055. This may or may not come in handy later, but it’s a scrap of tangible, verifiable evidence – a piece of the UFO, hairs from Bigfoot, a scale from the Loch Ness Monster. Someone with access to a real business intelligence service such as LexisNexis or Bloomberg can take that EIN and pull information that us faux conspiracy theorists don’t have access to. Other than that, the EIN isn’t very interesting, at least not as interesting as IRS Form 990 14. 14 Wikipedia. IRS Tax Forms: 990, May IRS Form 990 is more verbosely known as “Return of Organization 2011a. URL http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/IRS_tax_forms#990 Exempt From Income Tax.” This bit of bureaucratic paper contains a trove of information: names and positions of organization officers, if and how much they get paid, major donors and the amounts they donated, donations and payments made by the organization to other individuals or organizations, etc. Why do non-profits have to file tax returns if they pay no tax? Easy – it’s so the government can tell if a tax-exempt non-profit is behaving the way it said it would when it applied for non-profit status. For example, there’s a special category for political lobbyists – they’re tax-exempt but donations to them are not tax-deductible. If you are a charity you can do a little lobbying and still accept tax-deductible donations as long as your political activity is a small part of your overall activity. Mostly, Form 990 exists to let the IRS know if you’ve converted your lifestyle into a big tax dodge and to let others know where their charitable contributions are going. For our purposes, we see who’s been funding the Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc. A researcher from Georgetown University donated equipment and supplies. The non-profit Autism Research Insti- tute gave cash. So did a non-profit called BHARE, a company called ASD Centers, LLC, and a pair of companies in Sarasota, Florida sharing the same PO box 15 (Physicians Group, LLC and Healthcare 15 That’s not all they share: both appear Management Enterprises, Inc.) to be associated with one Gary G. Kompothecras, DC Chasing down information about for-profit firms is a bit more inverting the pharma shill narrative: dr. mark geier, entities and relationships 4

complex. Sure, if you have an EIN and a company is listed with the SEC, you can pull up their quarterly and annual reports (10Q’s and 10K’s) 16 But most companies aren’t big enough to report to the SEC. 16 United States Securities and Exchange For that info, you need to know the state the company operates in Commission. Company Search, May 2011. URL http://www.sec.gov/edgar/ and check with the state attorney general’s office. For example, you searchedgar/companysearch.html can do a business entity search for “ASD Centers LLC” with Dr. Geier’s home state of Maryland (no hits) 17 or with the state of Indi- 17 Baltimore Sun. State looks to remove ana (since ASD Centers LLC has a mailing address in Indianapolis) 18 autism panelist with links to suspended doctor, May 2011. URL http://goo.gl/ On a whim, you know that many companies incorporate in Delaware wVS0c. Byline: Meredith Cohn for some sort of business advantage, so you check there too 19. 18 The address was formerly occupied by the Indiana Mineral Aggregates As- sociation, a fine organization promoting Evidence is Golden the state’s producers of sand, gravel, limestone and slag. 19 State of Delaware Division of Cor- Paydirt! ASD Centers LLC was incorporated in Delaware on 11/5/2008 porations. Division of Corporations - Online Services, May 2011. URL and has a state file number of 4619995. Sadly, some states charge for https://delecorp.delaware.gov/tin/ detailed information but if you have $20 to spare, you can get tax GINameSearch.jsp filings, etc. from the state of Delaware for ASD Centers LLC. A word of caution: many organizations have similar names. Since I was too cheap to pay Delaware for detailed reports 20, I don’t know 20 I spend my money from Big Pharma for sure this is the same ASD Centers LLC as the one that funded on booze the Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc. This is why it’s important to separate what you believe to be true from what you have evidence of being true. In this case, I’d bet $20 this is the company I’m looking for, but I wouldn’t swear to it in a court of law. It’s good enough to document this info and move on. A good faux conspiracy theorist will make friends with someone with LexisNexis or Bloomberg access and give them the Delaware file number to look up. In this way, you can alternate between state business entity searches, Google searches on names, addresses, and organizations, SEC EDGAR filing searches and IRS Form 990 lookups with the National Center for Charitable Statistics, documenting all the people, organizations, and relationships you find. After a while you start seeing common names pop up and what was once a few boxes and lines on a chart has turned into a sprawling web of faux conspiracy! Sure, not ev- eryone on the chart is a member of the opposing conspiracy but if you’ve been documenting your evidence as you go along, every link in the chain has a verifiable relationship. This is important, because people now think you are crazy. inverting the pharma shill narrative: dr. mark geier, entities and relationships 5

Data is Not Narrative

Narrative Without Data is Fiction

Look at your chart21. Does it look like it was put together by 21 Bob Apthorpe. The Geier a crazy person, a real live weapons-grade crackpot? No? Then you Empire, May 2011.URL http://apthorpe.cynistar.net/ have not been researching long enough. If Kevin Bacon appears on vaxfax/geier_empire_map_01.pdf your chart twice, you probably have a good crazy-person chart. Stop for a moment, shower, shave, do some laundry, go outside and en- joy that bright fiery sky ball. Normal people call it “the sun.” Show someone your chart. They will think you are crazy. That’s ok. Be- cause you know. You have verifiable evidence, pieces of the UFO, Bigfoot’s hair, the Loch Ness Monster’s scales. All of those EINs, state file numbers for business entities, IRS Form 990s, 10Ks from EDGAR, copies of websites, etc. are all independently verifiable. They may not show what you think they show but they are tangible enough to be confirmed by an independent reviewer. You could get hit by a bus and someone could pick through your virtual shoebox of evidence and satisfy themselves there really is a conspiracy22, or at 22 And they realize they are next – watch least that the relationships you’ve drawn are based on evidence, not out for the BUS! simply pulled out of your ass. It’s that documentation, evidence, and capacity for independent verification that separates a faux conspiracy theorist from a real one. The picture you have drawn only implies a narrative, it doesn’t write one. Remember, some documented relationships are derived from provisional data and coincidence and mistakes are always possible. There is a lot of low-value data on the chart which is why it looks crazy. With enough data, patterns will emerge; that’s where the real research begins, the kind that can’t be done sitting at your laptop in the basement. You need to talk to people, stake out locations, rifle through dumpsters. Ok, maybe the stake-outs and dumpster dives are a bit much, but you definitely need to put on some pants, go outside and talk to people. If you can do that kind of research and write well, one day you might grow up to be the next Brian Deer or Trine Tsouderos. People will give you awards, your mom will tape your articles to the fridge and nobody will look at you like you’re crazy ever again. But deep down, you’ll know... inverting the pharma shill narrative: dr. mark geier, entities and relationships 6

Updates

The story may be over but it really never ends

Shortly after his father’s medical license was suspended, David Geier found himself charged with practicing medicine without a license23 and soon to be kicked off the State of Maryland’s Autism 23 Chicago Tribune. Maryland physician Commission. It appears that Dr. John Young got him appointed24 to board charges promoters of dangerous autism therapy - Chicago Tribune, the commission to provide a ’diversity of voices.’ May 2011. URL http://goo.gl/9L8xJ. Byline: Trine Tsouderos 24 Dr. Robert Goldberg. How Did Epilogue Autism Quack Get On Maryland Autism Panel?, May 2011. URL http: Credit where credit is due //www.tabloidmedicine.com/?p=228

The data was documented and displayed using the Visual Under- standing Environment, free cross-platform software developed by Tufts University 25. The map of the “Geier Empire” 26 is a subset of a 25 Tufts University. Visual Understand- much larger, much crazier-looking map I built over a few weeks using Environment, May 2011. URL http://vue.tufts.edu/ ing the process described above. Many thanks to the Urban Institute 26 Bob Apthorpe. The Geier Empire, and the National Center for Charitable Statistics 27 for making copies May 2011. URL http://apthorpe. _ _ of IRS Form 990 easily accessible. Thanks to the anonymous corre- cynistar.net/vaxfax/geier empire map_01.pdf spondents who took the time to review and comment on the map of 27 National Center for Charitable the Geier’s relationships. Studies. National Center for Char- If you would like to help research the antivaccination/autism itable Studies, May 2011a. URL http://nccs.urban.org/ community or have any comments or questions about the data or methodology used in generating the entity-relationship map, please send email to mailto:[email protected].

Revision 1.2, May 22, 2011, ©2011 Bob Apthorpe. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. To discuss commercial or derivative use of this work, please con- tact me at mailto:[email protected]. inverting the pharma shill narrative: dr. mark geier, entities and relationships 7

References

Baltimore Sun. State looks to remove autism panelist with links to suspended doctor, May 2011. URL http://goo.gl/wVS0c. Byline: Meredith Cohn.

Bob Apthorpe. The Geier Empire, May 2011. URL http: //apthorpe.cynistar.net/vaxfax/geier_empire_map_01.pdf.

Brian Deer. Brian Deer investigates MMR - legal aid funding, May 2011. URL http://briandeer.com/wakefield/legal-aid.htm. How Andrew Wakeﬁeld was paid to attack MMR, investigation by Brian Deer.

Chicago Breaking News. Trib Update: Md. suspends autism doctor’s license - chicagotribune.com, May 2011. URL http: //goo.gl/HzQiN. Byline: Steve Mills and Patricia Callahan.

Chicago Tribune. Maryland physician board charges promoters of dangerous autism therapy - Chicago Tribune, May 2011. URL http://goo.gl/9L8xJ. Byline: Trine Tsouderos.

Dr. Robert Goldberg. How Did Autism Quack Get On Maryland Autism Panel?, May 2011. URL http://www.tabloidmedicine.com/ ?p=228.

Kathleen Seidel. neurodiversity weblog: An Elusive Institute, June 2006. URL http://goo.gl/sTFD7.

National Center for Charitable Studies. National Center for Charita- ble Studies, May 2011a. URL http://nccs.urban.org/.

National Center for Charitable Studies. NCCS - Search Active Organizations, May 2011b. URL http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/ PubApps/search.php.

Orac. The "pharma shill" gambit : Respectful Insolence, August 2005. URL http://goo.gl/jTZsb.

Paul A. Ofﬁt. Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. Columbia University Press, 2008. URL http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780231146361.

Paul A. Ofﬁt. Deadly choices : how the anti-vaccine movement threatens us all. Basic Books, 2011. URL http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/ 9780465023561.

Sarah Boseley. Andrew Wakeﬁeld struck off register by Gen- eral Medical Council | Society | The Guardian, May 2011. inverting the pharma shill narrative: dr. mark geier, entities and relationships 8

URL http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/may/24/ andrew-wakefield-struck-off-gmc.

State of Delaware Division of Corporations. Division of Corpo- rations - Online Services, May 2011. URL https://delecorp. delaware.gov/tin/GINameSearch.jsp.

Tufts University. Visual Understanding Environment, May 2011. URL http://vue.tufts.edu/.

United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, May 2011. URL http://www.hrsa.gov/ vaccinecompensation.

United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Company Search, May 2011. URL http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/ companysearch.html.

Wikipedia. IRS Tax Forms: 990, May 2011a. URL http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS_tax_forms#990.

Wikipedia. Poisoning the Well, May 2011b. URL http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_the_well. UO: CJL. /-L) O 1 f . 1J JU17071J4,D Ur' I'IHRF Ur-.L .rf I"H(7C. CJ/-/ C O

Schedule B Schedule of Contributors OMB No L'154.5-0047 (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF) Supplementary Information for t of Form 990, 990-EZ, and 990- PF (eee metructions) Depanrncm of thr: Tr¢a:u+v lin'i 22006 Int ernal R evenu6 BsMCP Name of organizattion Employer Identtficabon number

The Institute of Chronic Illness, Inc. 20 34411055I Organization typo (check one)-

Filers of., Section:

Form 990 or 990-EZ q 501(c)( ) (enter number) organization

[] 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trust not treated as a private foundation

q 527 polltlt;al organization

Form 990-PF 0 501(c)(3) Oxompt private foundation

q 4947(a)(1j nonexempi charitable trust treated as a private foundation

q 501(c)(3) axable private foundation

Check if your organization is covered by the General Rule or a Special Rule. (Note: Only a section 501(c)(7), (8), or (10) otganizatlon can check boxes for both the General Rule and a Special Rule-see instructions.)

General Rule-

For organizations filing Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF that received, during the year, $5,000 or more (in money br property) from any one contributor. (Complete Parts I and II.)

Special Rules-

q For a section 501 (c)(3) organization tiling Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, that met the 331/3 %u support test of the r6gulatlons under sections 509(a)(1)/170(b)(1)(A)9vl), and received from any one contributor, during the year, a contribution bf the greater of $5,000 or 2% of the amount on line 1 of these forms. (Complete Parts I and 11 )

q For a section 501(c)(1), (8), or (10) oljganIzation filing Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, that received from any one contributor, during the year, aggregate contributions or bequests of moie than $1,000 for use exclusively for religious, charifiable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. (Complete Parts II. and III.)

For a section 501(c)(7), (8), or (10) otganization filing Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, that received from any one contributor, during the year, some contrlbutlone for use exclusively for religious, charitable, etc., purposes, but these contributions did not aggregate to more than $1,000. (If this box is checked, enter here the total contributions that were recelve l during the year for an exclusively religious,; charitable, etc , purpose. Do not complete any of the Parts unless the Gerkr'al Rule applies to this organization because! It received nonexcluaively religious, charitable, etc., contributions of $5,00b or more during the year.) i . ► $

Caution: Organizations that are not covered by the General Rule and/or the Special Rules do not file Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF), but they must check th,a box In the heading of their Form 990. Form 990-EZ, or on line 2 of theitForm 990-PF, to certify that they do not meet thr3 filing requirements of Schedule H (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF).

For Pape-o, k Reduction Act Notice , see the instru5tlons Cat. No. 3C1613X Schedule S (Form eeo, 99O-EZ, or 90- PF) (2005) for Form 990, Form 990- EZ, and Form 900-PF_

a uo/ UL: ztJrJo 1 ! . LU 3 CJ17O 71J4J Lrc I"IHrSh 17GiLr^ r HVC CJJ/ rio

Schedule B (Form 990. 990-EZ, or 990-Pr) (2006) Page 2 ofi 3 of Pert Name of organization Employer Identific4ion number The Institute of Chronic Illness, Inc. 20 3441066 Contributors (See Specific 6nstructions.)

(a) (b) (c) (d) No. Name, address, ? and ZIP + 4 Aggregate contributions Type of coltribution

1 The BHARE Foundation Person Payroll [,] 523 Newberry $ $50,000 . 00 Noncash q (Complete Pare II if there Is Elk Grove , II x0007 a noncasn coritribullon )

(a) (b) (c) (d)•, No. Name, eddress,;and ZIP + 4 Aggregate contributions Type of cor tribution

2 Georgetown University , Dt, Bel)$nt{ Person q Payroll : q 21 3800 Rasovoir Road $ $10,000.00 Norlcash

(Complete Part II if there is Washingtonr DC 20007 a noncash corkribution )

(a) (b) (c) (d);. No, Name, address , 'and ZIP . 4 Aggregate contributions Type of cori'trlbtrtion

Person Payroll q $ Noncash q (Complete ParE II If there Is a noncash coninbutlon .)

(a) (b) (c) (d)( No. Name, address, ;and ZIP + 4 Aggregate contributions Type of eoi ribution

Person q Payroll q r .;. $ Noncash 1- q

(Complete Parf,ll If iheis Is a noncash corknbuuon ) (d)l. (a) (b) (c) No. Name, address, and ZIP ► 4 Aggregate contributions Type of corrfribution

_ ^------Person '. F Payroll - q $ Noncash q

(Complete P1ri II if there is a noncash c or but ion.)

(a) (b) (c) (d)i No. Name, address, Viand ZIP + 4 Aggregate contributions Type of corttribution

Person 1 q Payroll q $ Noncash (Complete Par4•II IT there is a noncash contri b ut io n .)

Schedule B (Form 990 , 980-U, or 990 -PF) (2000) 3 Y-Jo/ UL / LYJlJ 1 r : in , UItJb'diJ4,j LK IVIHKK ut1tJ r-H ]I U4/ 00

Schedule © (Form 990, 990-EZ. or 990-PF) (2006, Page 3 oF_,3 of Part 11 Name of organization Employer identificat$on number The Institute of Chronic Illness, Inc. 20 344055

Noncash Property (See (ciflc Instructions.)

(b) FMV (or estimate) (d) (tromo Description of nonchsh property given Date recbived Part (see instructions)

Lab equipment & supplies 2

$10,000 . 00 10 / 15 2000

(a) No. (c) from (b) FMV (or estimate) ( Description of noncash property given Date received Part I (see Instructions)

(a) No. (b) M from FMV (or estimate) Description of noncsh property given Date lved Part (see instructions) redc

(a) No. (b) from (c) (d) Description of noncesh property given FMV (or estimate) Part (see instructions) Date received

$ / J

(a) No (b) (c) from FMV ( Description of noncash property given or estimate) Part 1 (see instructions) Date recAived

/ L

(a) No. ° (c) from c FMV (or estimate) (e Description of non ish property glean Date Part ( (see instructions) re-6ivedr

Scneoule B (Form 990 , 990-EZ, or 9!80-PF) (2006) YJdi Uz/ L19rJil 1 (: 15 eii'iti^154 i UM MHKK ULILK rrut ru(/ rJo

042874016 June 19, 2008 LTR 2697C 0 R 20-3444055 200612 44 900 00016100

INSTITUTE OF CHRONIC ILLNESSES INC 14 REDGATE CT SILVER SPRING MD 20905

f11C DECLARATION

3699 Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined the return! identified in this letter, including any accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, it is true, correct and complete. I understand that this declaration will become a permanent part of;that return. 2,C)e Signature of Officer; or Trustee ate

Tit lid Form 990-PF (2009) Page 6 Statements Regardin g Activities for Which Form 4720 May Be Required continued 5a During the year did the foundation pay or incur any amount to: (1) Carry on propaganda, or otherwise attempt to influence legislation (section 4945(e))? . q Yes 0 No (2) Influence the outcome of any specific public election (see section 4955); or to carry on, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive? ...... q Yes q No (3) Provide a grant to an individual for travel, study, or other similar purposes? . . . . . q Yes q No (4) Provide a grant to an organization other than a charitable, etc., organization described in section 509(a)(1), (2), or (3), or section 4940(d)(2)? (see page 22 of the instructions) . . q Yes Z No (5) Provide for any purpose other than religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals? ...... 1J No b If any answer is "Yes" to 5a(1}{5), did any of the transactions fail to qualify under the exceptions described in Regulations section 53 4945 or in a current notice regarding disaster assistance (see page 22 of the instructions)? 5b 3 q Organizations relying on a current notice regarding disaster assistance check here ...... ► c If the answer is "Yes" to question 5a(4), does the foundation claim exemption from the tax because it maintained expenditure responsibility for the grant? ...... q Yes Q No If "Yes," attach the statement required by Regulations section 53.4945-5(d). 6a Did the foundation, during the year, receive any funds, directly or indirectly, to pay premiums on a personal benefit contract? ...... q No b Did the foundation, during the year, pay premiums, directly or indirectly, on a personal benefit contract? 6b I I 3 If "Yes" to 6b, file Form 8870. 7a At any time during the tax year, was the foundation a party to a prohibited tax shelter transaction? q Yes No b If yes, did the foundation receive any proceeds or have any net income attributable to the transaction? . . 7b Information About Officers, Directors , Trustees, Foundation Managers, Highly Paid Employees, and Contractors 1 List all officers , directors , trustees , foundation managers and their compensation (see page 22 of the instructions). (b) Title, and average (c) Compensation (d) Contributions to Expense account, (a) Name and address hours per week (if not paid, enter employee benefit plans (e) devoted to position -0-) and deferred compensation other allowances

-Dr.-Mark-Geier ------President, 8hrs 15,000.00 5,586.94 14 Redgate Court, Silver Spring , MD 20905 David Geier ------VP, 8 hrs 14 Redgate Court, Sliver Spring, MD 20905

------

2 Coinoensation of five highest-Daid employees (other than those included on line 1-see Daae 23 of the instructions). If none, enter "NONE."

(d) Contributions to (b) Title, and average employee benefit (e) Expense account, (a) Name and address of each employee paid more than $50,000 hours per week (c) Compensation plans and deferred other allowances devoted to position compensation

------

Total number of other employees paid over $50,000 . ► Form 990-PF (2009) Schedule B Schedule of Contributors OMB No 1545-0047 (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF)' Poo- Attach to Form 990, 990-EZ , or 990-PF. Deportment of the Treasury 2009 Internal Revenue Service Name of the organization Employer identification number

The Institute of Chronic Illness, Inc. 20 3444055

Organization type (check one):

Filers of: Section:

Form 990 or 990-EZ q 501 (c)( ) (enter number) organization

q 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trust not treated as a private foundation

q 527 political organization

Form 990-PF ® 501 (c)(3) exempt private foundation

q 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trust treated as a private foundation

q 501(c)(3) taxable private foundation

Check if your organization is covered by the General Rule or a Special Rule. Note . Only a section 501 (c)(7), (8), or (10) organization can check boxes for both the General Rule and a Special Rule. See instructions. General Rule

For an organization filing Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF that received, during the year, $5,000 or more (in money or property) from any one contributor. Complete Parts I and II.

Special Rules

q For a section 501 (c)(3) organization filing Form 990 or 990- EZ that met the 331/3 % support test of the regulations under sections 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi), and received from any one contributor, during the year, a contribution of the greater of (1) $5,000 or (2) 2% of the amount on (I) Form 990 , Part VIII , line 1h or (ii) Form 990 - EZ, line 1. Complete Parts I and II.

q For a section 501(c)(7), (8), or (10) organization filing Form 990 or 990-EZ that received from any one contributor, during the year, aggregate contributions of more than $1,000 for use exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. Complete Parts I, II, and Ill.

q For a section 501 (c)(7), (8), or (10) organization filing Form 990 or 990-EZ that received from any one contributor, during the year, contributions for use exclusively for religious, charitable, etc., purposes, but these contributions did not aggregate to more than $1,000. If this box is checked, enter here the total contributions that were received during the year for an exclusively religious, charitable, etc., purpose. Do not complete any of the parts unless the General Rule applies to this organization because it received nonexclusively religious, chantable, etc., contributions of $5,000 or more during the year ...... 1110. $ ...... Caution . An organization that is not covered by the General Rule and/or the Special Rules does not file Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF), but it must answer "No" on Part IV, line 2 of its Form 990, or check the box on line H of its Form 990-EZ, or on line 2 of its Form 990-PF, to certify that it does not meet the filing requirements of Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF).

For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the Instructions Cat No 30613X Schedule B (Form 990, 990-F1, or 990-PF) (2009) for Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF. Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF) (2009) Page ! of I of Part I Name of organization Employer identification number

Contributors (see instructions)