Donald R. Lee-Edwards treated more than 100 patients during that time period, prescribing antidepressants and interpreting lab tests, according to the report. He saw patients in the basement of a home where he lived and also did home visits.
While Mr. Lee-Edwards collected copays from patients, he did not bill insurers.
In court Thursday, he pleaded guilty to two counts of unauthorized practice, a single count of a first-degree scheme to defraud and a single count of fourth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. He will be sentenced on March 28 and could be in prison for anywhere from three to nine years.
Because Mr. Lee-Edwards is not an American citizen — he is a Jamaican national — he could be deported, the judge said in court, according to the report.
This is not the only recent instance of a phony physician facing jail time: A Florida teen who has posed as a physician in the past was arrested earlier this month on fraud and larceny charges after allegedly charging a woman nearly $3,500 for five house calls.
