He put a band around patients’ heads and had them hold a metal rod to test his heart, brain, intestinal system, bones, nerves, and “everything else,” Hernando deputies said.

BROOKSVILLE – A Tampa man has been accused of posing as a fake doctor who could cure diabetes, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said.

Onelio Hipolit-Gonzalez, 73, of Tampa, was charged with one count each of Unlicensed Practice of a Health Care Profession and Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communication Device. The Florida Department of Health said that Hipolit-Gonzalez has never had a medical license, of any kind, in the state of Florida.

Deputies from the Hernando sheriff’s vice and narcotics unit helped investigators from the FDOH.

An FDOH investigator told detectives that Hipolit-Gonzalez advertised his services on a website called Elclassificado, an advertisement website for the Hispanic community. The advertisement stated that
Hipolit-Gonzalez could treat medical conditions such as: hernias, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, arthrosis, renal failure, Leukemia, Fibromyalgia, ulcers, vision problems, cysts, and many other health problems. The website shows a photo of Hipolit-Gonzalez, in a white coat. Under the photo, it is labeled “Dr. Onelio Hipolit.”

Arrangements were made Thursday (Feb. 7) by telephone between a “patient” and Hipolit-Gonzalez to meet for an appointment. When asked where to meet, Hipolit-Gonzaleztold the patient that a friend allows
him to use his house to see patients, and Hipolit-Gonzalez gave the patient the address of a home in eastern Brooksville. Deputies said the two agreed to meet at the house at 10:30 a.m. for the appointment.

When the patient arrived for the appointment, he was handed a clipboard and asked to complete papers. He was then asked to pay $160, which he did.

Hipolit-Gonzalez checked the patient’s blood pressure and pulse and then placed a band around the patient’s head and had him hold a metal rod (both the band and the rod were connected to a machine on a table). Once turned on, the machine began making beeping noises. Hipolit-Gonzalez told the patient, thatthe device was testing his heart, brain, intestinal system, bones, nerves, and “everything else.”

When the test was complete, Hipolit-Gonzalez told the patient that “his cholesterol was on the way to being high” and that he “was not getting enough oxygen to his brain.” Hipolit-Gonzalez also told the patient that he has “50 percent fat in his liver and his gallbladder was not in good health.” Deputies said Hipolit-Gonzalez also told the patient that he had diabetes and osteoporosis.

Hipolit-Gonzalez then told the patient that he had previously cured the owner of the house they were using of his diabetes. He never identified the owner but called him on the phone to get his testimony.

When the call was complete, Hipolit-Gonzalez told the patient he could cure his diabetes, too, with several more visits, and only $2,000. Deputies said he went on to say that the treatment would include injecting the patient with “his own blood.”

After this, detectives moved in and placed Hipolit-Gonzalez into custody. He was taken to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed.

Hipolit-Gonzalez told deputies that he did not believe that he needed a license to practice medicine. When asked if he had any type of medical schooling, training or background, Hipolit-Gonzalez said that he was a lab technician in Cuba and when he moved to Florida he went to school to get a certificate for iridology, herbology, and nutrition.

When asked about the machine and the metal rod, Hipolit-Gonzalez told deputies that he bought it online. There was no schooling necessary to operate it, the user only needed to read the instruction manual. Also, men needed to hold the rod in their left hand; women, in their right. Hipolit-Gonzalez told deputies that the machine diagnoses the patient and that he believes it is very accurate, and that it will detect “everything.”

When asked about injecting his own blood into patients Hipolit-Gonzalez told deputies that he does not do that. Deputies said he told them that he draws the patient’s blood, and then injects the same blood he just withdrew. He said when the blood enters the body it “combats” the blood cells and increases the immune system.

Hernando Sheriff | Crime | Arrests | Tampbay News

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