Gerald Barnbaum Former pharmacist, fraudster Country: USA

1. Former Pharmacist, Fraudster
2. Impersonating a Doctor
3. Legal Consequences
4. Additional Crimes
5. Fraudulent Practices
6. Final Conviction

Former Pharmacist, Fraudster

Gerald Barnbaum was a former pharmacist who was convicted for impersonating a doctor between 1976 and 2000. He used a number of pseudonyms, including Gerald Barnes and Jerold C. Barnes. Barnbaum was born in 1933 in Chicago, Illinois and studied to become a pharmacist. However, in the mid-70s, he lost his license due to Medicaid fraud.

Impersonating a Doctor

In 1976, Barnbaum moved to California and legally changed his last name to Barnes. He stole the documents of a licensed doctor named Gerald Barnes from Stockton and worked as a therapist in Los Angeles and Southern California for the next three years. In 1979, Barnbaum's lack of medical knowledge and negligence led to the death of John McKenzie, a 29-year-old patient who exhibited classic symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes. Barnbaum misdiagnosed him and sent him home with medication for dizziness. McKenzie was found dead in his apartment a few days later. During the investigation, it was discovered that Barnbaum was an impostor.

Legal Consequences

In 1980, Barnbaum was charged with second-degree murder for McKenzie's death. However, he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and practicing without a medical license. He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, of which he served 19 months. Despite McKenzie's death and being on parole, Barnbaum continued practicing medicine without a license. He was caught in 1984 when he attempted to get a job at a hospital and the real Dr. Barnes found out. Barnbaum was charged with theft and forgery of documents and was sentenced to another three years and four months in prison.

Additional Crimes

In 1989, Barnbaum earned his third sentence for stealing the documents of pharmacist Donald Barnes from San Francisco. He was apprehended while trying to get a job in Los Angeles using Barnes' license. In 1991, he was arrested again for violating parole but was released in October. Over the next four and a half years, Barnbaum worked in several medical institutions in the Los Angeles area, earning over $400,000. The institutions billed insurance companies and individuals almost $5,000,000 for his services.

Fraudulent Practices

In 1995, Barnbaum became a staff doctor at Executive Health Group, a Los Angeles clinic that performed physical examinations for FBI agents. He examined anywhere from 70 to several hundred agents per year. However, he was only exposed when a new investigator from the state medical board took on Dr. Barnes' case. Initially, Barnbaum pretended to want to commit suicide and later staged a heart attack. It was later revealed that he had given incorrect diagnoses and prescribed wrong medications, resulting in some patients losing their jobs.

Final Conviction

Facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in federal prison, Barnbaum pleaded guilty to mail fraud, illegal distribution of controlled substances, and illegal use of controlled substance registration. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. The Executive Health Group also faced lawsuits for defamation, sexual harassment, and medical malpractice from nearly 500 plaintiffs and paid $8,000,000 in damages. In 2000, while being transferred to another prison, Barnbaum managed to escape and found work as a doctor again. However, the FBI apprehended him four weeks later. He received an additional twelve and a half years to his sentence and is currently serving his punishment at the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania, with a scheduled release in 2018. The real Dr. Barnes had to spend several more years rebuilding his reputation, which had been damaged by Barnbaum's relentless fraud.