A federal trial began Monday for an Indiana man who pleaded guilty last year to posing as a psychologist in the south suburbs.
Scott Redman used the name of a licensed doctor to get a job in late 2015 at a clinic in Chicago’s River North neighborhood and prescribe medication to patients, one as young as 9 years old, a federal prosecutor alleged in opening statements.
Using the stolen identity, the 36-year-old Hammond man attempted to obtain a registration number from the U.S. Drug Enforcement agency needed to legally write prescriptions, the prosecutor told jurors inside a courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building.
A 10-count indictment against Redman accuses him of wire fraud, stealing the identity and license number of a physician, providing false information on a DEA application and distributing a controlled substance, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Redman’s defense contends that patients liked him and that he intended no harm or to steal the doctor’s identity, even though he used a name that was not his own.
In October, Redman pleaded guilty in a Cook County court to a single count of misdemeanor practicing psychological therapy without a license. He was the subject of extensive reporting by the Daily Southtown after state regulators scrutinized his practice and South Holland police arrested him.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Madden called Redman a “con man” before showing the jury a resume the defendant used to obtain a job at Clarity Clinic under the name “Dr. Julian D. Lopez Garcia, MD.”
“But the name on the resume was just the first of many lies,” Madden said. It also listed undergraduate and medical degrees, as well as a hospital residency from the University of Connecticut, all of which was fictitious, he said.
Redman saw patients at the clinic for months, including a third-grader who was prescribed medication used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, prosecutors said.
“These patients had severe, real-life mental health issues,” Madden said.
In February, DEA agents arrested Redman at the clinic, prosecutors said.
Agents obtained emails from Redman’s cellphone after the arrest that were sent to a website called “GreatFakeID.com” and to an address registered to fakediplomanow.com, prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Gerald Collins told jurors that his patients appreciated his counseling sessions.
“People liked him. They returned, they scheduled other appointments,” he said.
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While he did fill out an application and practice using Dr. Lopez Garcia’s name, Redman never intended to defraud anyone, Collins said.
Redman’s trial is expected to last about a week. He returns Tuesday to federal court.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter.