OAKLAND — A Danville-based chiropractor with an extensive Internet-based marketing operation was sued Thursday by district attorneys from 11 California counties for fraud and false advertising.

Dr. Benjamin Altadonna, who asserts on his website, among other things, that he can help other doctors win “patients for life, painlessly,” was accused of deceiving “tens of thousands” of doctors with false marketing schemes that promised increased business and of selling a spinal traction device that he falsely said was scientifically proven to work.

“The District Attorney’s civil complaint alleges that Altadonna knowingly and recklessly violated his legal and ethical duties as a licensed California health care professional,” a news release from the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office says. “Additionally, the complaint alleges that Altadonna and his affiliated corporations defrauded tens of thousands of chiropractors into buying his marketing products and services based on a false promise of increased income.”

Altadonna, whose website features an introductory video staring a past contestant from NBC’s “The Apprentice” program, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The civil suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, seeks $10 million in reimbursements for doctors who purchased Altadonna’s $115,000 spinal traction device and for patients “deceived into expensive chiropractic treatment.”

The suit also seeks $1 million in “civil penalties for illegal business practices.”

An investigation into Altadonna’s business practices began several years ago when various district attorneys offices began receiving complaints about his false claims in promoting the spinal traction device known as a DRX-9000, a news release says.

Altadonna used newspaper advertisements and his websites to tout the success of the device, falsely asserting that scientific research, including studies conducted by NASA, found that the device had an 86 percent chance of success in curing chronic back aliments, the lawsuit states. The advertisements also falsely claimed that the device was approved by the Federal Drug Administration, the lawsuit says.

“All the claims about the efficacy of the DRX-9000 can be traced to Altadonna’s marketing plans and were either false or not scientifically substantiated,” a news release says.

The suit was jointly filed by district attorneys from Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano and Sonoma counties.

“The Alameda County District Attorney’s office feels strongly that health care professionals, like Mr. Altadonna, should be held to a high standard of care,” said deputy district attorney Scott Patton, who is handling the case. “They should not be allowed to use deception and fraud to maximize their profits to the detriment of their patients.”