Fake doctor alleged to bilk immigrants, expose himself

February 17, 2006

By Adam Martin, Bay City News Service

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- A man accused of practicing medicine fraudulently in San Francisco for about six years had been on probation with the state's medical board in the 1990s following two convictions for indecent exposure.

Stephen Turner, 51, of Hayward was arrested Wednesday and charged with 131 counts, 106 of which are felonies, according to San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris.

Turner allegedly operated illegal clinics in San Francisco between 1999 and 2005.

He allegedly bilked 1,417 immigrant patients seeking permanent resident status out of a total of $247,000 by giving fake vaccinations and tests and falsifying medical records, Harris said Thursday.

Turner allegedly gave his patients injections of saline solution instead of vaccinations and took blood samples from them that he did not send to any lab, according to Harris' office. Instead, he allegedly filled out federal forms stating that his patients had been vaccinated and had tested negative for HIV antibodies and syphilis, according to Harris' office.

Turner had surrendered his license in 1998 after being placed on a seven-year probation period by the California Medical Board in 1994, according to a medical board document ordering his probation. He was placed on probation following two convictions, eight years apart, for indecent exposure.

The first conviction stemmed from a March 19, 1984 incident when Turner was a radiology resident at the University of Southern California.

According to a medical board document, he "exposed himself and masturbated in the presence of two minor females on the premises of the USC Medical Center,'' a charge to which Turner pleaded no contest.

Turner was again convicted of indecent exposure after an incident on Nov. 16, 1992, when he asked a young woman in Berkeley for directions to the campus, according to the same medical board document.

Turner was sitting in his car and holding a map, and when the woman began giving him directions she "noted that (Turner) was masturbating his exposed and erect penis with his left hand, making no effort to conceal his actions.''

After the woman walked away, Turner reportedly circled the block, driving past her several times before she took down his license plate number and called police.

Following his second conviction, Turner was prescribed psychoanalysis to treat his exhibitionism, according to the board document. He was also sentenced to three years' formal probation, a fine and 30 days in jail, to be served through weekend work detail.

Following the start of his psychotherapy and after enrolling in the East Bay Sexual Offender Treatment program, according to the document, Turner admitted he had exposed himself more times than the two for which he was convicted. "In fact, respondent now admits, he exposed himself on 'many occasions' between March 1984 and November 1992,'' the document states.

After a reluctant start, Turner made progress in his psychotherapy, the document recounts. In 1994, the board revoked Turner's license but stayed that revocation, placing him on 7 years' probation instead.

In the decision that granted Turner his probationary license, Administrative Law Judge Michael C. Cohn wrote, "While a cynic might believe respondent's current attitude toward treatment for his exhibitionism is merely a 'courthouse conversion,' designed to save his medical license, that does not appear to be the case.''

On Aug. 28, 1998, the medical board wrote Turner a letter
accepting the surrender of his license in lieu of discipline.

However, in 1999, Turner opened a clinic in San Francisco,
according to the district attorney's office.

He allegedly illegally operated that clinic, called the "Center for Health Control,'' at 2601 Mission St. until 2002, when he reportedly opened another clinic by the same name at 3004 16th St. That clinic stayed in operation until its closure following a sting operation by the district attorney's office on Dec. 7, 2005, Harris said today.

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