A controversial Vernon clinic that drew attention for its anti-COVID vaccine stance during the pandemic appears to be riven with internal strife.
In a video posted to YouTube last week, Dave Vass, the initial funder of Vass Integrated Wellness and whose father it was named after, claims to set the record straight over the actions of what he calls a "rogue director."
Vass identifies himself as the president and a director of Vass Integrated Wellness Society.
"For the last year, I was on the sidelines and not directly involved," he says in the video, recorded while driving.
"I had donated several thousands of dollars to VASS in the hope of having it do some good in memory of my dad, who passed away during COVID," he says in an email statement linking to the video.
"Since the inception of VASS, I've only given to it and I've had no personal gain whatsoever from the society. The entire point was to help others."
However, he claims he recently had to get involved "due to some very serious, wrongful actions done by one rogue director."
Vass says it has been his vision to create a "healing oasis," to which end he purchased an unnamed property.
However, he claims a Vernon woman and director on the board was holding up to $23,000 of clinic proceeds at her own home and tried to use clinic assets to form a personal partnership and for-profit company behind his back, for personal gain.
Vass says he was "dragged into" the disagreement and threats of lawsuits have been flying.
Vass refers to an annual general meeting of the society at which the director in question signed an agreement to repay the money, which had never made it as far as the society's bank account.
The director has been suspended, he says, and is now "smearing my name through the mud."
Vass says the unnamed director claims he's "stolen this business."
"We're gonna get to the bottom of it," he says, alluding to possible criminal charges.
He says VASS continues to operate, and "everything moving forward will be done with honesty and transparency."
The clinic, said to have been operated by Interior Health employees who lost their jobs for not being vaccinated, had initially operated out of the Mustard Seed Clinic building on 27th Street.
Last December, it quietly packed up with no notice of where it was going, and clinic representatives did not return phone calls.
The group was previously associated with the anti-vax group Ezra Wellness.
Meanwhile, a man who approached Castanet with concern about the clinic after visiting it for pain relief has written to the health authority, saying he was shocked to learn "the people running it are not licensed medical professionals."
"The people working at VASS claim that they can cure cancers and other life-threatening diseases. I am extremely concerned," he wrote.
The patient says the clinic is also only taking cash for it services, which raised his suspicions.
