Man accused of posing as dermatologist

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A California man who posed as a dermatologist was charged with practicing medicine without a license, officials say.

Timothy Syed Andersson, 66, of San Francisco, was charged with a total of 51 counts, which included grand theft and deception, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

Andersson's allegedly fraudulent practices came to the attention of investigators when a woman, who had seen Andersson for $7,000 worth of varicose vein treatments, filed a complaint against Andersson. Investigators said they found more questionable-procedures complaints from July 2004 through September 2007, the report said.

Andersson apparently took in more than $75,000 in fees between 2004 and 2007, charging patients between $1,000 and $10,000 for various procedures, many of which were allegedly inappropriate, painful or amounted to quackery, the newspaper said.

"I firmly believe he's been a fraudster. This is just scratching the surface." said a senior investigator with the California Medical Board, Craig Stewart, who believes Andersson has been cheating patients since the early 1990s.

Andersson tricked not only patients, but also doctors at medical conference where he posed as an expert on skin maladies, said District Attorney Kamala Harris.