A gay-to-straight "conversion therapy" clinic in New Jersey must shut its doors permanently, after a jury found it to have been guilty of violating the state's consumer fraud protections.

JONAH, or Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing, offered services that claimed they could turn gay people straight.

After the verdict, however, which found JONAH guilty of committing consumer fraud and engaging in unconscionable commercial practices, founder Arthur Goldberg and counselor Alan Downing have been banned from engaging in any form of conversion therapy in New Jersey.

Every major U.S. medical and mental health association has condemned the therapy, citing that it not only produces psychological damage, but can promote bigotry and discrimination against LGBT people.

"JONAH peddled discredited, pseudo-scientific treatments to people who weren’t sick, who weren’t broken, and who needed nothing but love and support," said David Dinielli, the deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center. "The end of JONAH signals that conversion therapy, however packaged, is fraudulent – plain and simple. Other conversion therapy providers would be well-advised to examine what happened to JONAH, and to abandon their foolish efforts to make gay people straight."

SPLC wrote the following about what the verdict means to those involved:

"Under the settlement, the defendants will pay the full $72,400 in damages awarded by the jury to compensate the plaintiffs for the fees they paid to JONAH and for remedial mental health counseling for one plaintiff. The proposed judgment includes a $3.5 million award of legal fees. The plaintiffs agreed to accept an undisclosed portion of that award, but the defendants will be liable for the full amount if they violate the agreement.

JONAH will be required to shut down all of its operations within 30 days after the order is entered, and its websites and online listservs must be removed. JONAH also will have to liquidate its assets and permanently dissolve as a corporate entity within six months.

Testimony at the trial revealed the JONAH program’s bizarre and abusive techniques, which included instructing men to undress and instructing one plaintiff to touch his genitals in a private counseling session. JONAH orchestrated violent role-play exercises, encouraging clients to beat effigies of their mothers, who were sometimes blamed for their sons’ homosexuality. Male counselors advocated 'healthy touch' sessions that included prolonged cuddling. JONAH’s tactics alienated some clients from their families and caused them to blame themselves or family members for their sexual orientation."

h/t: SPLC