PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Mary Blakley is accused of posing as a medical provider and defrauding patients out of millions of dollars. Mary and her husband, Fred, are charged with mail, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Arizona’s Family Investigates reported on the allegations
against Mary, who is known to her patients as “Dr. Mary.” As the FBI investigation proceeded, their attention turned to Fred. According to federal court documents, prosecutors detailed how federal agents had been undercover investigating the Blakleys and said Fred was stockpiling guns in an effort to prepare for possible civil war.
‘Gonna have to go to war… Civil War’
The Blakleys were prohibited from owning weapons because they had been convicted on drug charges in 1997. Arizona’s Family Investigates was able to confirm through court documents in Nevada that the Blakleys spent nearly four years in prison for manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine. According to court documents to keep Mary and Fred detained in 2025, “Fred maintained a workshop in a garage on his pastor’s property, in which he collected, built and modified firearms.” They allege his emails revealed “hundreds of pieces of correspondence with firearms dealers and sellers as well as actual deliveries by mail.” Investigators found 30 guns and 30,000 rounds of ammunition on that property. In conversations recorded by undercover agents, Fred and Mary expressed more disturbing intentions. In May 2023, Mary tells one of the undercover officers that “[Fred] and pastor have been making guns… thousands of guns. We’re arming, we’re arming Arizona.” In another conversation in August 2022, Fred said, “We’re gonna have to go to war with our own government… a civil war… you better arm up good. I’ve got thousands of rounds of ammunition, and I’m ready to rock.” Later, he said, “I’m planning on shooting some humans.” “It makes the fraud all the more serious,” said Paul Charlton, a former career prosecutor who also served as U.S. Attorney for Arizona. While the FBI continues to investigate, Arizona’s Family Investigates asked Charlton if laying out all this information meant additional charges against the Blakleys were likely. He pointed to their ages: Mary is 75, and Fred is 60. “It probably means if convicted on the fraud charges alone that they might never see the light of day again and the weapons charges might be wholly unnecessary,” Charlton said. The FBI has not identified the pastor or church involved in this. It does not appear the pastor or the Blakleys have been charged related to the weapons.
Defending the Blakleys
Arizona’s Family Investigates identified the church where the Blakleys were members. The people who answered the phone defended the couple, saying they believe this is all overblown. They declined to be interviewed and said their pastor is a former Marine and is passionate about guns. The pastor hasn’t returned repeated calls for comment.
Investigation into Blakleys’ Clinics
According to a federal indictment, their investigation began with a sale of one of the Blakleys’ ultrasound machines to a customer in Pennsylvania. Mary used her alleged experience as part of the appeal. Mary claimed she had a PhD in vascular physics and decades of experience training at a university in Sweden and a renowned cancer hospital in Texas. She alleged the experience allowed her to diagnose and treat patients. Prosecutors said she used a “full body scan” and propriety “smart-chip” technology in her ultrasound machine. According to federal investigators, the “smart-chip” technology was not real; neither were Blakley’s credentials in Sweden or at a Texas cancer hospital. Investigators said Blakley prescribed unapproved treatments, including veterinary products, to patients seeking medical help. Court documents show Mary had no medical background and no record of her having a PhD. The FBI said she worked as a medical provider for more than two decades in Nevada, Colorado, California, Utah and most recently, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. “She had no medical license, no authority to diagnose or treat anyone,” said Charity Carson-Hawke, Mary’s estranged daughter. When they reconnected in 2018, Carson-Hawke said she knew her mother was lying about her experience. She filed a police report with Lake Havasu City Police. It was one of three reports that the department received about Mary since then.
The Road Ahead
The Blakleys remain behind bars as they await trial, which is scheduled for Apr. 29 in Philadelphia. If convicted on all charges, they face 165 years in prison.
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