CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — A man serving time for posing as a surgeon in Portland and bilking a woman who hoped to undergo a stomach operation faces accusations of writing bad checks to get $32,000 worth of Christmas decorations at his condominium in Albany.
Lucas Orline Ebert, 23, was arraigned Wednesday on the charges in Benton County Court and pleaded not guilty, the Corvallis Gazette-Times reported (http://bit.ly/13zlVQC ). He appeared via video from the Washington County Jail, where he’s awaiting trial on forgery and theft charges.
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Ebert also has been serving a three-year sentence for convictions in Multnomah County on charges of practicing medicine without a license, identity theft and other charges. He was sentenced in December 2011
Officials at Oregon Health & Science University said Ebert used what was likely a gift-shop badge and a vest with the hospital’s name to pose as a surgeon, counsel a 45-year-old woman about gastric bypass surgery and take several thousand dollars from her.
The scheme unraveled when the woman showed up at the hospital’s front desk and asked for “Dr. Ebert.”
Investigators said at the time that Ebert tried to create a high-class image, renting sports cars and staying in posh hotels with money he got fraudulently.
The Benton County charges date to 2010.
He is accused of hiring Shonnard’s Nursery to put up high-end Christmas decorations inside and outside his Albany condominium without intending to pay for them, writing two bad checks for a total of $14,000 as down-payment money, said Capt. Dave Henslee of the Corvallis Police Department.
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Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com
