San Francisco prosecutors have announced the arrest of a 66-year-old man who is believed to have practiced medicine without a license.

Prosecutors charge that Timothy Syed Andersson, 66, passed himself off as a dermatologist and subjected his patients to painful procedures. In order to bolster his reputation, he operated a website that boasted of his research, suggesting that it was linked to cures for various dermatological conditions, including stretch marks and hair loss. He also decorated his walls with pictures of himself with famous people, including the likes of Julia Roberts, Elizabeth Hurley and Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling. The prosecution suggests that the pictures question attest not to an influential circle of acquaintances, but to his mad Photoshop skills.

Posing as Dr. Syed, Andersson is alleged to have told children that they had cancer, injected adults with interferon to treat skin conditions (it is normally used to treat hepatitis C) and to have poked people with needles in order to treat varicose veins. All the while he is alleged to have charged thousands for his treatments.

The good doctor’s career came to an end when he treated a woman’s varicose veins with 25 needle sticks for blood withdrawals and charged her $7,000 for the privilege. She filed a complaint with the medical board after her regular physician informed her that it appeared that Andersson did not have a license to practice medicine.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Andersson has thus far received 51 felony charges over his practice, which operated out of an office at his home between 2004 and 2007. His bail has been set at $1 million.

See the San Francisco DA briefing here.

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