The civil suit filed against the couple in January in York County Superior Court was withdrawn last week by the Kittery-based nonprofit organization after it was, in effect, put out of business by the Maine Attorney General’s Office in August.

Once based in Blue Hill, GWP manufactured “healing instruments” that it said were based on designs received through telepathic impressions from the “spirit world.” Distributed worldwide, the group claimed its products could effectively treat everything from high blood pressure to Alzheimer’s disease.

Not true, said a consumer fraud complaint filed by the Maine Attorney General’s Office in July. The state accused GWP of violating Maine’s Unfair Trade Practices Act in a complaint that contends there is no objective or reliable scientific evidence that the instruments are effective.

The complaint upheld on Aug. 15 in York County Superior Court also accused the group of mismanagement of donations that it had collected as a charity. According to the group’s most recent public tax filing, GWP’s annual revenue for the budget year that ended Aug. 31, 2004, was nearly $1.2 million.

The group’s founder, John “Tubby” Miller, and five others named in the consumer fraud complaint subsequently agreed to collectively pay $50,000 in civil penalties and costs. They also agreed that any remaining GWP assets would be liquidated and used by a court-appointed receiver in making restitution to those who had been defrauded financially by the group’s activities.

The civil suit withdrawn last week was scheduled to go to trial on Dec. 4. It claimed Bergin and Garvey, who were involved with Gentle Wind for more than 17 years, were posting false and defamatory statements on their Web site that were negatively impacting donations. The suit sought punitive damages, attorney’s fees and an injunction that would have shut down the Web site.

The civil suit filed in state court in January followed dismissal of a similar suit in federal court. Defending themselves in both legal actions has proven expensive for Bergin and Garvey.

In a prepared statement, the couple said a settlement agreement they signed last week entitles them to receive “an undisclosed amount” from the group’s remaining assets.

“Much more important than the money,” the statement said, “we provided an essential service to the public by telling the truth about our experiences with GWP, and we balanced out some of the effects of what we caused for people while we were influenced by GWP’s belief system.”

Bergin and Garvey said they would continue to operate their Web site (windsofchange.org).

“Our Web site will remain online indefinitely so that individuals can continue to make informed decisions about GWP’s activities,” their statement said. “We will eventually bring the information up to date with the present events and, as time allows, we will add more.

“Most important of all, we have our family intact, new and honest relationships with friends, and a healed marriage, all of which was disrupted during our 17 years with GWP.”