Alberta man accused of misrepresenting himself as doctor

EDMONTON – An Alberta man is facing more than a dozen fraud related charges for allegedly claiming to be a doctor in Ontario.

Thirty-one year-old, Arun Reddy was arrested in Fort Saskatchewan on Tuesday, March 26 after a Canada-Wide warrant was issued for his arrest.

Judy Smith, who works across from the clinic, watched as police raided his Global Medical Clinic, which has been closed since last Tuesday.

“We were just sitting in our office and we seen the police escort the gentleman out of his Global Medical.”

Police started an investigation into Reddy allegedly misrepresenting himself as a licensed physician in Lindsay, Ontario after they received information from the Insurance Bureau of Canada Aviva Canada Inc.

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) says Reddy led patients and insurance companies to believe he was a licensed physician while he owned and operated Lindsay Medical Laser Therapy, when he wasn’t licensed to practice medicine in Ontario.

Global News spoke with a couple of patients who had set up appointments for treatment. Neither wished to appear on camera but they said that Reddy assured them he was a doctor. He showed them his medical degrees and said he was able to diagnose skin conditions.

But despite the degrees and diplomas hanging from the walls in Reddy’s Fort Saskatchewan office, he is also not a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Alberta (CPSA).

“Unfortunately because he’s not a doctor, we don’t have any jurisdiction over him,” saya Kelly Eby with the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons. “So the only thing we can do is go to the courts and ask them to put a court order against him.”

She adds that you do not have to be a doctor to perform laser treatments, however, she has the following advice for people:

“Every physician that operates in Alberta has a licence to practice in Alberta – we call them ‘practice permits,” as opposed to a licence,” she explains. “But you can ask any physician in this province to see their practice permit, and they are required to produce it. Or you can go to on our website and look them on our website. And again, that tells you what sort of training they have, what their qualifications are, and any practice conditions they have on their licence.”

Arun Reddy is facing four counts of fraud over $5,000, seven counts of attempted fraud over $5,000, three counts of fraud under $5,000, and attempted fraud under $5,000.

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP say they have not opened an investigation into Reddy. The 31 year-old is scheduled to make his first Ontario court appearance on Tuesday, April 9th.

With files from Fletcher Kent, Global News