Niles police charge doctor who performed phony physical with malpractice

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Updated: June 27, 2011 12:25AM

The phony physician who allegedly performed toothpick acupuncture on a “patient” and prescribed out-of-date pills has been arrested, Niles police reported.

George Fleming, 61, of 8250 N. Kenneth, Skokie, was arrested on May 18 and charged with practicing medicine without a license.

Fleming, who police said does not have a license to practice medicine in Illinois, reportedly treated a man April 23 at a clinic on the 8900 block of Golf Road. According to the Medical Practice Act of 1987, the suspect “knowingly and without a valid license under this Act, suggested, recommended or prescribed treatment ... .”

Niles police Sgt. Robert Tornabene said the victim saw an advertisement for the fake doctor’s medical services in a Bulgarian newspaper. The clinic was closed at the time the patient saw Fleming.

The suspect reportedly put toothpicks in the patient’s chest (possibly as an acupuncture treatment) and gave him pills labeled “Prosperous Farmer Dietary Supplements.” The label on the bottle stated that the pills expired February 2002.

On April 26, when the victim and his son called the clinic, an employee said she didn’t know who the doctor was, police reported. The father and son then went to the clinic and saw Fleming, who fled east on Golf Road, police said.

Investigators reported that Fleming voluntarily came to the Niles Police Department for an interview. During the interview he admitted to practicing medicine without a license, police said.

“He’s not licensed to practice medicine in the state of Illinois,” Tornabene said. “I don’t know if he had been prior.”

If convicted, Fleming could be sent to prison for between one and three years and fined up to $25,000, according to Niles police.

Fleming’s arraignment date was May 19. His bond was set at $5,000.