A man who operated a Kingston Road health facility is facing multiple fraud-related charges for allegedly posing as a registered osteopath.
The Woodstock man, who claimed to be a certified and registered osteopath, ran The Osteopath clinic at Kingston and Pickering Street.
According to the clinic’s website, The Osteopath offered free consultation, charged $120 for assessment, and $100 for treatment.
The suspect allegedly provided false registration numbers for insurance. After being paid for his services the clinic owner kept the proceeds, police said.
The business website, which has been taken down, offered treatments for all kinds of issues, from back pain to issues related to pregnancy.
On the website, the suspect claimed to have three years’ therapeutic service at the Olympic High Performance Centre, that he was on Olympic trials emergency staff, and that he is a certified osteopath.
He claimed to have treated everyone from elite-level athletes to seniors with mobility issues.
“I have witnessed the benefits of top level training and physical therapy while working around the Blue Jays at the Skydome, as well as when working with both Canada’s National Women’s Hockey team and Canada’s National Men’s Volleyball team,” he wrote in his online biography.
The Canadian College of Osteopathy defines the practice as “a natural medicine which aims to restore function in the body by treating the causes of pain and imbalance.”
According to Osteopathy Ontario’s website, only a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is permitted to use the title “osteopath” as per the Medicine Act, 1991. The organization states that although the exact number is not known, there are an estimated 20 osteopathic physicians practising in Canada.
George Workman, 47, surrendered to police on Feb. 10 in relation to an outstanding warrant in a fraud investigation.
He has been charged with passing off, fraud under $5,000, two counts of false pretenses and two counts of utter forged documents.
Anyone with any information can call 416-808-5500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.
Yasmin Soul is a Beach resident and Humber College journalism student.
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