Three charged in connection with unlicensed stem cell therapy in Draper

DRAPER — The Utah Attorney General’s office has filed charges against three people accused of performing unlicensed stem cell therapy in Draper.

The charges accuse 58-year-old Randall Relyea of performing stem cell therapy procedures without an active medical license, after a history of battling a substance abuse problem.

There are also at least two accounts from patients who expressed a mishandling of their care. One of those patients stated Relyea performed a stem cell extraction, jabbing the needle into his hip bone without anesthesia and without his consent.

Relyea was initially licensed as an osteopathic surgeon in Missouri in the late 90s, but was terminated from his residency program due to a substance abuse problem. He was placed on probation for five years. In 2004, he was licensed to practice in Utah, but with stipulations. In 2007, he was suspended from Castleview Hospital in Price for “failing to comply with medical staff bylaws and his recent criminal arrest related to narcotics.” Then in 2009, Relyea surrendered his license with Utah’s Division of Professional Licensing after admitting “unprofessional conduct, including unlawful distribution of controlled substances, driving under the influence of drugs, and record-keeping violations.”

In 2015, DOPL placed Relyea on a “Restricted Active on Probation” license for five years. The conditions of his probation include:

• Abstain from drugs and alcohol.
• 48 hours to submit prescriptions to DOPL.
• Reporting use of prescription to DOPL.
• Copy of stipulation to employer.
• No private practice.
• No supervision of others.
• No DEA license.
• Written notification of change of employer or employment status.

Despite those conditions, the charging documents state Relyea continued to practice medicine without telling people he was not actively licensed to do so.

He reportedly went on to get hired as the medical director of Spa Trouve in Draper and later at Glam Aesthetics Lounge in Draper. Both businesses claim Relyea never made them aware of his probationary status or conditions. Relyea’s license was reportedly hanging in the lounge, and appeared to patients as active instead of  “Restricted Active on Probation.”

Then in 2019, Precision Pointe Regenerative Health was founded. Relyea is a co-founder, along with his wife, Jennifer Frazier-Relyea. The clinic has posted promotional videos that show him involved in the stem cell retrieval process.

The DOPL performed a sting operation in 2022, where an investigator for DOPL went undercover as a patient. The investigator, backed up by audio recording, claims Relyea was called “doctor” within the office, performed a physical exam and walked the undercover investigator through the details of a procedure as if he would be participating in it.

In response to subpoenas, the defendants state that Relyea was not actively practicing, he was merely performing intake, and acting as a supervised medical assistant. On the clinic’s website, Relyea is listed as an “Advanced Regenerative Therapeutics Expert, Founder & Partner.”

The charging documents go on to recount a patient’s experience in 2023 where he was held down and stem cells were extracted without his consent. The patient said he thought he was there for a consultation and did not know they were going to perform the procedure then and there. Without anesthesia, Reylea told the patient to “drop his pants and lay on his stomach.” He then allegedly inserted a rod, formally called a Jamshidi needle, into the patient’s hip bone to extract the stem cells. Dr. Paul Winterton, who is also named as a co-defendant in these charges, then came into the room and helped hold down the patient while he screamed for them to stop. The patient described it as the most painful thing he had ever experienced. The medical report indicates Dr. Winterton was the provider on the procedure.

In another instance in 2024, a patient came in for help with herniated discs. The charges state that Reylea performed two procedures on him without reviewing his provided medical records and MRI. Within four days of the procedure, the patient was admitted to the emergency room in severe pain. The charging documents state that Reylea, Frazier and Dr. Winterton tell a different story than the patient about who was involved in performing the procedures.

Reylea is now facing seven charges for unlawful professional conduct, communications fraud, obstruction of justice and a pattern of unlawful activity. The Utah Attorney General’s office lists Dr. Winterton and Frazier-Reylea as co-defendents for their alleged involvement in knowingly covering up for Reylea’s lack of licensure.