Judith Stephens’ bogus credentials

Note: the business associated with this person, GHR/Stephens Manufacturing, is no longer in business. The information below is an archive.

Bogus academic and professional credentials

Stephens has claimed in promotional material to have “two science degrees in Human Nutrition.” That’s just the start of her long list of fake credentials:

B.S.: Stephens testified under oath in 1992 that she has a Bachelor of Science degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. The university has no record of this.

M.S.: Stephens also testified under oath in 1992 that she has a Master of Science degree from University of Idaho. That university also has no record of this.

R.N.: When posing under one of her assumed names, Stephens claimed to be an R.N. Texas state records show that she was never a registered nurse.

CPE: In 1998, Stephens began using the credential “CPE,” the designation certified by the American Electrology Association as Certified Professional Electrologist. When AEA complained, she changed this to “Certified Pilo Electrologist,” and later to “PE.” She finally dropped it after AEA lawyers contacted the Texas Attorney General.

University teacher: In a 1995 article, Stephens told a reporter that she taught “clinical nutrition to nursing students at the Edinburg location of the University of Texas.” A bit of an exaggeration, since University of Texas Pan-American records show she was not a faculty member.

Other degrees: Stephens was quoted in a 1995 article that “she earned a degree in Home Economics and food science technology and became a pediatric nutritionist. Later she was an administrator on the Mexican-American Migrant Nutritional Status project with the University of Colorado Medical School.” In other words, she probably graduated high school after studying home economics and worked as support staff at University of Colorado.

Inventor: Even though Stephens claims she’s an inventor, her competitor AHRS holds the patent and was cleared by FDA before GHR, indicating her “invention” is simply an AHRS clone.

Assumed names

Her full legal name is listed as Judith Lindaly Stephens, but she has gone by other names. She also frequently posts to internet message boards under assumed names, pretending to be a consumer while promoting GHR and attacking those who question GHR’s claims. Among her known aliases:

Judith G Stephens: Name that’s appeared with altered middle initial in phone listings and in public filings with creditors. Also sometimes drops the “ly” and changes middle name to Linda, as she did in her bankruptcy filings.

Linda Gardner: As Linda Gardner, Stephens attempted to take the CPE electrology certification examination in 1992. She also claimed to be a Registered Nurse who was associated with the Dallas Institute of Electrolysis. Using this alias, she sent letters to an electrolysis trade magazine promoting GHR. Unfortunately, she was using the name of a real registered nurse in Dallas, who was not happy to find out about this.

Marissa Copeland: Also in 1992, Stephens attempted to get admitted to an electrolysis trade convention under the name Marissa Copeland, who was supposedly a student at the non-existent Dallas Institute of Electrolysis.

Related to inventors Thomas Edison and Robert Fulton

A biographical article at GHR’s promotion site says of “inventor” Stephens: “Her inventive style may be inherited… she claims great-great uncles Thomas Alva Edison and Robert Fulton.”

hairfree.com/inventor.htm

Well, considering Fulton and Edison were born 82 years apart, and Edison has no living descendants, I called her on her lie. When pressed, Stephens said, “I told that reporter and I’ll tell you — I couldn’t remember how many greats to put in there but I have a quilt passed down through my family and made by Robert Fulton’s mom. Why would I have it if it weren’t available to me from my family lineage?”

I suppose her genealogical link to Edison is that her family owns a light bulb. She sticks by this story, allowing a reporter in 1999 to say Edison as her “distant relative.”

Stephens , who is a genealogy buff, is fond using assumed names from her family tree. On 27 May 1998, Stephens claimed

My Scottish ancestery consists of Lee’s (yes, the Lee’s of Virginia as in Robert E Lee and Martha Washington, great, great aunt of Robert Fulton, etc.), Fultons and Gardners, all septs of the Clan Gordon. Thomas Alva Edison is more distant on the Family Tree but he’s perched there nonetheless.

Gardners, huh? as in Linda Gardner? Does this mean she’s also using the name Cook as an assumed name?

Named “Woman of the Year”

The same article claims that in 1995, “In recognition of her achievement in developing the GHR system, Stephens was recently named Woman of the Year by Who’s Who Among Outstanding Americans and is the first woman inventor ever to be listed.”

Turns out, Stephens is merely listed in a vanity publication with a similar name instead of the well-known Who’s Who. Either Stephens got a taste of her own medicine and fell for a misleading scam, or she’s using this misleading scam knowingly to legitimize herself and her product in the eyes of consumers. Either way, it’s pretty pathetic.