A 66-year-old San Francisco man accused of fraudulently posing as a dermatologist pleaded not guilty today in San Francisco Superior Court to 51 felony counts.
Prosecutors have accused Timothy Syed Andersson, also known as “Dr. Syed,” of misrepresenting himself as a medical doctor and defrauding dozens of patients out of about $75,000.
He is charged with 27 counts of practicing medicine without a license, 23 counts of grand theft by deception and one count of perjury.
Prosecutors said that Andersson told patients he worked at the University of California at San Francisco and Stanford University and often saw them at his home office in San Francisco’s Sunset District.
He allegedly treated patients for a variety of skin conditions using injections of unknown substances. He also allegedly told the parents of a 13-year-old child that the child had cancer and drew blood from a female patient’s legs to treat her varicose veins.
As Dr. Syed, he advertised himself on Indian radio stations and on the Internet.
Andersson immigrated to the United States from Sweden but was originally from Pakistan, and is not licensed to practice medicine in California or anywhere in the country, according to the district attorney’s office.
He remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail and is due back in court March 11.
