PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — A Tennessee man who posed as a Harvard-educated psychiatrist in Ponte Vedra Beach was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Monday over a fraud scheme that occurred in Tennessee years prior, according to a release from the Justice Department.
George David George, 64, of Franklin, Tenn. was found guilty of operating a fraudulent investment scheme in 2015 that conned dozens of investors out of $3 million, Tennessee attorneys said.
He was ordered to pay a little more than $2,800,000 in restitution.
George was initially charged with fraud and money laundering in 2015 for presenting himself to investors as the CEO of Well City, Inc. a company based in Tennessee purported to be a social network dedicated to wellness.
Court officials said George solicited millions from investors despite owing millions to prior investors and making little revenue with Well City, Inc.
After the charges, George went on the run and failed to show up in court on multiple occasions.
During his time on the run, George took on different aliases and eventually ended up in Ponte Vedra Beach where he posed himself as Harvard-educated psychiatrist "Stephen Olivier," the Justice Department said.
As Olivier, George reportedly treated several patients and charged a woman $750 to "treat" her 16-year-old son who suffered from depression. The Justice Department said George gave the teen Clonazepam, a medication George took from a woman he met online on Match.com.
The teen took the medication and later became suicidal and had to be hospitalized, according to the Justice Department.
George was arrested by the U.S. Marshals shortly after in Jan. 2019.