Forbes Picks Up On Dahn Yoga Lawsuit (Updated)
Forbes Magazine just weighed in on Dahn Yoga, which we’ve covered here before, with a feature in its issue dated August 3.
Forbes leads with the recent Arizona lawsuit alleging fraud and sexual assault, among other things, noting that the “explosive charges” from former Dahn members “threaten what appears to be a highly lucrative enterprise.”
The magazine pins the organization’s global annual revenue at $133 million, and says it could bring in $34 million this year from its US operations.
Dahn’s New Mexico operations appear to duplicate efforts at other branches, judging by the Forbes article. Patterns seem to include obtaining dubious endorsements from public officials and staging “brain education” programs in public schools. The Forbes article concludes thus:
A spokesperson for the New York City Board of Education confirmed that brain education has been implemented in some fashion in 44 New York City public schools in the past year, all at the initiative of individual schools. The board was unaware of the allegations in the Arizona suit.
Update: Dahn Yoga’s press rep, Mike Paul of MGP & Associates PR, didn’t like that I didn’t contact him before posting on the Forbes article. After he emailed, I asked him for a response to the Forbes piece, and here’s what he sent:
“Calling Dahn Yoga a cult is like calling other health and fitness clubs in America a cult. It is absurd! Look for more relevant information regarding the unethical and illegal activities of the plaintiffs to be communicated soon with facts versus fiction. Their credibility is the one in question, not Dahn Yoga.”
Mike Paul, spokesperson, Dahn Yoga
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July 18th, 2009 at 3:29 am
Sounds like they’re preparing a smear campaign against the plaintiffs. That should work to create a chilling effect on complaints being filed against them. It could backfire because it’s very negative, and they will appear to be blaming the victims while they say they’re all about peace and healing and keeping happy thoughts.
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I have heard that Dahn and the public relations firm that they have hired to handle the negative publicity from this lawsuit is busy collecting as many positive testimonials as they can get from their employees to try and dilute the claims of this case. The claims in this suit echos claims brought in earlier suits and claims things that I have seen with my own eyes as a former member. I do believe that Ilchi Lee has been corrupted by greed and the $$ that he is reaping from this business. While the practice does have positive benefits to offer, I feel that the pressures the Masters are put under to bring in those $$ for Ilchi’s benefit outweigh the benefits. I got to the point where I no longer felt that I could put the appearance of placing my “stamp of approval” on the business by my continued presence and practice.
December 8th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
1. Lawsuits
In his account of the present lawsuit against Dahn Yoga, Mr. Gonen neglects to inform your readers that on November 3, Judge Susan Bolton dismissed 8 out of 10 of the claims in the current lawsuit which applies to 26 out of 27 of the plaintiffs. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs had provided insufficient facts to support their claims. Judge Bolton granted the Motions to Dismiss with respect to claims of fraud, undue influence, RICO conspiracy and Fair Labor Standards Act violations. The only claims which remain are of the plaintiff alleging sexual assault. We will soon present the court additional materials showing that those remaining claims should also be dismissed or subjected to summary judgment. The information presented to the court that was a key factor to the plaintiff withstanding motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment is false. Her stories are not only inconsistent with what witnesses tell us, but also with her own prior statements. The alleged sexual assault never occurred.
January 22nd, 2010 at 9:28 am
Yeah, But who wants to be associated with an organization whose founder has been imprisoned and has a shady pass? Doesnt seem so enlightened to me