(NaturalNews) It has become increasingly apparent that a number of key figures promoting vaccines and GMOs are really nothing more than thugs, industry shills or criminals pushing corrupt practices and phony science.

In an attempt to continually inform and update our readers, it is a primary goal of Natural News to identify these charlatans and keep pressure on other media to better scrutinize individuals who portray themselves as independent "experts" who are doing nothing more than conveying the "truth" about vaccines.

Here are three of the most notorious hucksters still on the scene:

Dr. Poul Thorsen

Thorsen is a scientist who formerly worked for the CDC. Over the last several years, he oversaw millions of dollars in grant money that was used to conduct research to "prove" that vaccines have no link to autism. Dr. Thorsen's research papers include the famous "Danish Study" entitled "Thimerosal and the occurrence of autism: negative ecological evidence from Danish population-based data."

Thorsen was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2011 on charges of money laundering and wire fraud, allegedly diverting millions of dollars he received via grant money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earmarked for research to his own personal bank account.

According to bank account records, Thorsen purchased a home in Atlanta, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, an Audi automobile, and a Honda SUV with funds that he received from the CDC grants.

He faces 13 counts of wire fraud and 9 counts of money laundering. He is currently being held by Danish authorities and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. If convicted on all counts, he faces hundreds of years in jail and tens of millions of dollars in fines.

Dr. Gilbert Ross

Ross is one of ten discredited and compromised physicians who have recently branded Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of a popular daytime health information program, a "quack" because Oz provides information about non-traditional, alternative medical treatments to his audience. Ross and the other physicians penned a letter to Columbia University to have Oz, a licensed cardiothoracic surgeon who is the chief of cardiac surgery at the university, thrown off its faculty.

Ross is a convicted criminal and Medicaid fraud artist. He was "convicted of racketeering, mail fraud and conspiracy," and was "sentenced to 47 months in jail, $40,000 in forfeiture and restitution of $612,855" in a scheme to defraud the Medicaid system, reports the U.S. Right to Know campaign on a web page dedicated to describing Ross' questionable practices as executive director of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).