Police: Fake doctor treated hundreds of patients

AUSTELL, Ga. — An Austell man is accused of pretending to be a doctor and treating hundreds of patients.

Channel 2's Ashley Swann is following up on the allegations against Ernest Addo, who has been charged with unlawfully practicing medicine in South Carolina.

South Carolina police said the 48-year-old used the identity of a friend who was a doctor to get a job as a physician at Agape Senior Primary Care in Orangeburg, S.C., in February.

Since then, Addo is believed to have treated up to 500 senior citizens in the Columbia, S.C. area, authorities said.

Police said Addo quit last week when his doctor friend realized he had opened credit cards in his name and called police.

On Friday, Addo was arrested at a home on Brandmere Drive in Austell, where neighbors said Addo lived with his wife and kids.

Neighbor Cameron Fudge saw Addo being arrested, but didn't know what was going on.

"I saw the wife handcuffed against one tree and the guy was handcuffed to another tree," Fudge said.

He and other neighbors are now trying to figure out how Addo was able to maintain a job as a physician for six months.

In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, Agape Senior Primary Care representatives said Ado came highly recommended from his previous employer, where he worked as a physician. They said he provided all necessary information to practice and passed all third-party credentialing.

Police said Addo doesn't have any licenses in his actual name. So they’re working to figure out if he had some medical training in the past and how he got those other jobs.

Neighbors expressed sympathy for patients and families affected by the ordeal.

"[I'm] upset with the system that that can happen," one neighbor said. "I would want some sort of justice."

Addo is being held at the Cobb County Detention Center.

Check back for updates.

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