Fraudster poses as British plastic surgeon to perform REAL OPERATIONS on patients

February 6, 2019  13:30

A CON artist is on the run after he was exposed for impersonating a plastic surgeon and performing operations on patients - despite having NO medical training.

Matteo Politi, who went under the false name of "Matty Mode", masqueraded as an renowned British surgeon and had been operating on people since March last year.

The unbelievable case has been likened to the film Catch Me If You Can, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio a con artist who posed as a pilot, lawyer and doctor.

According to local reports, he is on the run after he was exposed using faked documents, which allowed him to perform surgeries and give lectures without anyone noticing.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

The Italian national was reportedly convicted of identity theft in his home country in 2011 before allegedly moving to Romania, where he posed as a British plastic surgeon.

In true Walter Mitty style, he even created a Facebook page where he posted photos and videos of himself performing operations.

The page, which has since been removed, was full of before and after snaps of his alleged victims.

The fraudster aroused suspicion after staff noticed him struggling to put latex gloves on and he didn't wash his hands in correctly before surgery.

Romanian newspaper Libertatea reported Polti used forged documents and created a CV which said he had studied at the UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside Hospital and the prestigious Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in United States.

FAKE CV

Politi also claimed he had worked as a plastic surgeon in the UK, Italy and Spain despite the fact that in reality he had not even graduated from high school, according to reports.

Libertatea reported he has performed 10 operations at four private hospitals in the Romanian capital Bucharest, named as Euromedical, Prestige, MH Medical Group, and Monza, before being caught out.

Monza Hospitals make a turnover of £20 million euros.

He is said to have carried out the first operation in March 2018.

Local media report Politi's fake CV even convinced a centre for trainee plastic surgeons in the Italian city of Verona to allow him to give lectures.

HIGH SCHOOL DROP OUT

The Italian is said to have managed to get approval from the Public Health Direction (DSP) in Bucharest using a fake diploma from the Faculty of Medicine in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo.

Politi is said to have convinced the authorities to allow him to perform operations using the DSP approval despite him also legally requiring approval from the Doctors' College (CMR) to do so.

Libertatea report that the Italian told hospital authorities he would provide his CMR approval soon and they had allowed him to work in the meantime.

Reports state Politi aroused suspicion when nurses spotted that he was struggling to put his medical gloves on and he failed to wash his hands correctly before an operation.

The CMR was called and are said to have begun an investigation into Politi alongside the police.

The Monza hospital has now said it will sue Politi but reports state he has fled the country.

Source: thesun.co.uk

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter


 
  • Video
 
 
  • Event calendar
 
 
  • Archive