Ex-Doctor Allegedly Gave Fake Exams

A former doctor in the Bay Area has been charged with 131 counts of performing fake medical exams on more than 1,400 immigrants seeking legal residency in the United States.

Stephen Brian Turner allegedly injected patients -- including children and the elderly -- with saline solution in place of vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria.

Prosecutors also contend that Turner, 51, drew blood for HIV and syphilis tests but never submitted the samples to laboratories. He then reportedly indicated on immigration forms that the test results were negative.

San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris announced the charges Thursday in conjunction with the Medical Board of California, calling Turner’s alleged actions “outrageous” for “preying on the innocent.”

Turner was arrested at his Hayward home, southeast of San Francisco. He appeared in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday, but his arraignment was postponed. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

Turner was convicted of criminal counts of indecent exposure in 1984 and 1993. The 1984 lewd conduct conviction occurred in Los Angeles and stemmed from three indecent exposure incidents in public places earlier that year.

In 1994, the Medical Board suspended his license for a year and placed him on seven years’ probation.

He surrendered his license several years later but, according to prosecutors, continued to practice medicine in San Francisco’s heavily Latino Mission District through last December, conducting the immigration exams.

In addition to felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and mishandling blood samples, Turner is charged with misdemeanor counts of battery, cruelty to children and elder abuse. He is also charged with felony grand theft, for collecting more than $247,000 in exam fees from the 1,417 victims.