A Tulsa woman who used the Internet to market what she called her “secret sauce” to cancer victims in Kansas and elsewhere was indicted Wednesday on 13 counts of wire fraud.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says a federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment against Maureen Long, 64, Tulsa, Okla.

The indictment alleges Long’s Internet-based business, Camelot Cancer Care, Inc., preyed on people who were desperately seeking cures for cancer by selling them infusions of drugs that were misbranded and not approved for treating cancer.

Long, who was not a physician, a nurse or any other kind of licensed medical professional, used her Web site and email to create the false impression she was running a legitimate medical clinic. She sold clients drugs that the Food and Drug Administration – she called it the “Federal Death Administration” — had not approved for treating cancer.

Eleven Kansas residents paid more than $128,000 total for Long’s treatments. Residents of Kansas towns including Lenexa, Spring Hill, Hartford, Prairie Village, Hesston, Ottawa and Mt. Hope were among the victims. They had been diagnosed with illnesses including ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, rectal and lymph cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cervical cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, brain tumor and breast cancer.

The indictment also alleges Long:
* Falsely claimed that Camelot had a 60 percent success rate resulting in either remission of cancer or stopping a tumor’s growth.
* Marketed something she called the “DMSO Protocol,” which was supposed to consist of DMSO, Vitamin C and Vitamin B-17 (also known as Amygdalin or Laetrile). A forensic chemical analysis of some of the products, however, found neither DMSO nor Laetrile.
* Distributed marketing materials claiming the infusion she sold would cut through malignancy “like a scythe through a wheat field.”
* Charged $12,000 or more for a first round of treatment and $3,600 for each subsequent round.
* Instructed clients to forego traditional treatments of radiation and chemotherapy.

If convicted, Long faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas governor’s office insists that the public doesn’t have the right to know who it’s considering to fill two new positions on the Saline County Commission.

The Salina Journal reports Gov. Sam Brownback’s office on Monday rejected the newspaper’s third request for the names of candidates the governor has interviewed for the posts. Voters in November expanded the governing body from three members to five.

The Journal contends the public has the right to know who is being considered to fill 40 percent of its commission positions. Brownback press secretary Eileen Hawley says the governor isn’t required to disclose the names of the candidates because it’s a personnel matter.

Journal editor and publisher M. Olaf Frandsen says the newspaper will fight for disclosure “as long as it takes.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are accusing Sprint Corp. of illegally billing its wireless customers tens of millions of dollars in unwanted charges for text message alerts and other services.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday it has sued the telecom company over billing for unauthorized charges, a practice known as “cramming.” The agency said Sprint failed to oversee third-party companies, allowing illegal charges to be put on customers’ bills.

The bureau said the charges ranged from one-time fees of 99 cents to $4.99, to monthly subscriptions costing $9.99 a month. It said Sprint received up to 40 percent of the revenue from the charges.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Communications Commission is expected to fine Sprint a record $105 million for the alleged violations.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The future of Heartland Park Topeka will be in limbo until at least early next year.

The Topeka City Council learned Tuesday that the city staff isn’t expected to recommend a prospective buyer for the racing venue until Jan. 6.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported  the city had announced Monday that it received four proposals to operate the park.

The city voted in August to authorize the purchase of Heartland Park, although it does not intend to run the racetrack.

A subsequent petition drive gained enough signatures to put the matter up for a citywide vote. But the city filed a lawsuit and a Shawnee County judge ruled last month that the petition drive was invalid. That ruling was appealed and is awaiting further court action.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Lawrence City Commission will ask for an outside audit of public funds spent on the Rock Chalk Park sports complex.

The commission also decided Tuesday to delay a $1 million payment for infrastructure for the park in northwest Lawrence. The commission had been criticized for not seeking competitive bids on about $12 million in infrastructure work at the park.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports  City Auditor Michael Eglinski will determine the scope of the audit and recommend auditors not connected to the city or the University of Kansas.

Commissioners said they hope the audit will be finished by early February.

Commissioners have said they did not require competitive bids on the project largely because KU Endowment officials objected to the bid process.

A Ferrelview, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court for using four young victims to produce child pornography as part of a nationwide child pornography ring. US Attorney Tammy Dickinson says Raymond M. Appling, 32, of Ferrelview, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 40 years in federal prison without parole.

On March 4, 2014, Appling pleaded guilty to four counts of producing or attempting to produce child pornography. Appling admitted that he took pornographic photos and video of four child victims, which he shared with others.

FBI agents had identified two suspects in Colorado and in San Diego, Calif., that linked Appling to the child pornography ring. Detectives with the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department executed a search warrant at Appling’s residence on Feb. 8, 2012, and seized computers, computer media and a camera. In an interview with the detectives, Appling identified a third member of the child pornography ring located in Pennsylvania. The other members of the child pornography ring are being prosecuted in those jurisdictions.

Appling admitted that he took a child victim, identified as Jane Doe #1, to visit the San Diego suspect, whom he knew had a sexual attraction to minors. Appling also took pornographic photos of Jane Doe #1 when she was eight years old.

Appling also took photos of a second child victim, identified as Jane Doe #2. Appling took photos of Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 together in the shower. Jane Doe #2 also told investigators that she had met the San Diego suspect at Appling’s home.

Appling took photos of a third child victim, identified as Jane Doe #3, while she was asleep on his couch. A series of photos depicts Appling moving Jane Doe #3’s clothes so that she is exposed, and Appling touching her.

Appling also produced a movie of a 12-year-old victim, identified as Jane Doe #4, while she was undressing and getting ready to take a shower.

Officials uncovered other, fragmented evidence of multiple child porn images, videos, and chats.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have increased their presence at a Kansas high school after rumors circulated that people who were angry about the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old last weekend might seek retaliation.

The Kansas City Star reports Turner School District assistant superintendent Jason Dandoy sent a letter home with parents saying that the school was keeping watch over students, but there wasn’t a credible threat at this time.

The school district says about one-third of the students at the school in Kansas City, Kansas, were absent on Tuesday.

Dandoy says some families chose to pick up their children, though most were going about their school day as normal.

Police say Kahlif L’ron Hampton of Kansas City, Kansas, was shot Friday night and died Sunday.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A homeless amputee has lost nearly everything he owned — including his prosthetic legs — after a candle he was using to stay warm started a fire in a Topeka storage facility.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the blaze, reported at 12:42 a.m. Tuesday, caused $135,000 in damage at AAA Self Storage. A local advocate for the homeless says the man had been living in the storage units for two months.

Advocate Justyn Hosman says the man lost “everything but himself and his wheelchair.” Hosman says he saw a melted prosthetic leg at the fire scene.

He says the unidentified man lost his legs several years ago when he was struck by a train near the Topeka Rescue Mission.