Topanga Spiritual Healer Pleads No Contest to Illegally Practicing Medicine

A Topanga spiritual healer pleaded no contest Wednesday to misdemeanor practicing medicine without certification.

Felix Babu Stephen, 43, a native of India and a legal U.S. resident, acted because he feared possible deportation, his lawyer said. Originally charged with three felonies, he could have been found guilty of a lesser offense, operating a massage business without a valid license. The charge, associated with prostitution, is considered a crime of “moral turpitude” and could get him in trouble with immigration authorities, defense attorney John Stanley said.

Stephen had been charged with felony practicing medicine without a license, grand theft for allegedly taking more than $200,000 from a woman who sought treatments for a pinched nerve, and possession of codeine, a controlled substance.

The case stemmed from a complaint by Anita Lenaburg that Stephen’s treatment involved drugs and sex inside his yurt, a tent-like dome at his hilly compound. Two other women also alleged sex abuse, but authorities ruled the acts were consensual or uncorroborated.

Stanley called the other allegations “outrageously ridiculous.”

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office agreed to settle because of the uncertainty of conviction in such an unusual case, a prosecutor said.

“You have a man in Topanga Canyon practicing his ... therapy inside his yurt, and where the victim didn’t complain the first time [that wrongdoing happened],” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ralph Shapiro, chief prosecutor at the Superior Court in Malibu. “The more uncertainty in the outcome, the more you have to be flexible.”

Prosecutors also took into consideration that Stephen had no criminal record. Stephen could not be reached for comment.

Stephen -- also known as Felix Sinnappan -- performed deep-tissue massages, taught yoga breathing and led meditation sessions for clients who included British rock star Sting and actor Robert Downey Jr.

Stephen calls himself an Ayurvedic spiritualist but he is not known in the local Ayurvedic community and holds no certificates or association memberships. Ayurveda is an ancient holistic medicine system from India that uses herbs, nutrition, yoga and meditation for healing.

Stephen has a 1984 certificate in massage coursework from an Indian Ayurvedic school, but not a U.S. one, Stanley said.

On Tuesday, Stephen paid Lenaburg an undisclosed sum of money to make her “go away,” Stanley said. Stephen, who faces a maximum penalty of a year in jail, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday.