George Fleming, Phony Doctor, Gave Patients 'Acupuncture' With Toothpicks: Police

A 61-year-old man faces jail time and a $25,000 fine after allegedly posing as a doctor and giving a man expired pills and "acupuncture" with toothpicks in the Chicago suburbs.

Police in Niles told Skokie Patch that George Fleming placed an ad for medical services in a Bulgarian newspaper in April. When a man showed up for his appointment, the clinic situation wasn't exactly typical.

Patch reports:

The patient made an appointment for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 23 and arrived at an office in the 8900 block of Golf Road in Niles. The office was closed, but after the patient knocked repeatedly, Fleming, wearing a white lab coat, let him in, greeted him, walked him back to an exam room, asked the patient his symptoms and conducted a basic examination.
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The patient later told police Fleming stuck toothpicks in his chest, in what may have been a form of acupuncture. Then, according to police, Fleming gave him a bottle of the "Prosperous Farmer" pills and instructed him to take one a day until they ran out. He charged $150 for the "exam" and would only take cash.

The patient realized Fleming was a fake when he came home and noticed the pills the "doctor" had given him had expired. He and his son then went to the clinic, and saw Fleming run from the building, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. They then called the police.

TribLocal reports that Fleming came to the Niles Police Department for an interview, and admitted to practicing medicine without a license. It was unclear, however, how he accessed the closed clinic and whether he had any other patients.