Lawsuit Claims International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals Maintains Illegal Monopoly Over Board Certification

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (iaedp) Foundation and Managing Director Bonnie Harken of violating state tax law, committing acts of fraud and maintaining an illegal monopoly over the board certification process for mental health providers who treat eating disorders.

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According to the 49-page second amended complaint, iaedp is the only organization to offer nationally recognized certification in the care and treatment of eating disorders. As a result, the lawsuit alleges, iaedp and its managing director have been able to inflate the price of certification and membership, generating massive revenues for themselves at the expense of medical professionals and mental health practitioners.

The suit explains that in order to become board-certified, eating disorder specialists must acquire and maintain iaedp membership and pay annual dues to the organization. Depending on the type of certification, certain members must also pay yearly supervision fees and certification dues, the case says. In addition, all board-certified specialists are required to attend an in-person iaedp symposium once every four years to maintain certification, the complaint shares.

The filing contends that these membership fees have “no legitimate purpose” and are neither related to nor an integral part of iaedp certification. Indeed, the iaedp lawsuit claims that these various dues “do[] nothing but produce additional revenue” for the organization and its managing director.

The suit alleges that after Harken assumed leadership of iaedp in 2002, she acquired “iron fisted control” over the organization and its purportedly “independent” corporate chapters through “subterfuge, deceit and through a carefully crafted conspiracy” with several other co-defendant executives.

“Defendant Harken’s stewardship over iaedp has been marked by ethically questionable and illegal conduct,” the complaint asserts. “The purpose of Defendant Harken’s illicit conduct was to unjustly enrichen herself at the expense of a non-profit organization which was supposed to be dedicated to the research, education and understanding of eating disorders.”

The filing accuses Harken of making misrepresentations on iaedp’s tax filings since 2017, including by allegedly distorting the facts surrounding a defunct management company she owned called Crossroads Programs, Inc. As the lawsuit tells it, Harken reported on iaedp’s tax forms that Crossroads has maintained a consulting agreement with the organization and been paid a base income of $156,000, even though the management company was dissolved in 2016.

Moreover, the suit claims Harken has violated California tax law by intentionally misclassifying herself as an independent contractor of iaedp and not an employee.

“On iaedp’s tax forms, Defendant Harken committed perjury and misrepresented Crossroad’s [sic] status, misrepresented its existence, misrepresented that she was not an employee and illegally operated in the State of California,” the case charges.

What’s more, the complaint shares, California requires employers to withhold state income tax and several other state payroll taxes from wages paid to employees and, in most cases, independent contractors. The filing alleges that neither iaedp nor Harken have paid any of those taxes.

The lawsuit accuses Harken and iaedp of tax evasion and claims their operation of the organization’s board certification program violates federal and state antitrust laws.

According to the suit, an iaedp member started a petition in December 2023 calling for Harken’s resignation and the disassociation of the certification process from iaedp.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who became board-certified through iaedp at any time since January 1, 2017, paid membership dues to the organization and attended at least one national symposium during that period.

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