Ariya Ouskouian, a 23-year old native of Irvine, California, was arrested earlier in the month after impersonating a doctor seven times at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and University of California, Irvine between April 23 and June 4. On May 3rd, while in a consult room at UC Irvine, Ouskouian allegedly diagnosed a growth on a patient’s neck.
The following is a statement released by CHOC: “During limited time on our campus, we believe this individual did not interact with any of our patients. The individual did not have any access to patient health information.”
How did Ouskouian gain access to the California hospitals? By claiming he’d lost his hospital badge and requesting a new one. When hospital staff eventually became suspicious of Ouskouian and asked for verification of his hospital status, he provided the name of a UCI personnel member.
He is charged with one felony charge and eight misdemeanors. If convinced, Ouskouian faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison and eight years in Orange County jail.
The story calls to mind Malachi Love-Robinson, a Florida teen who was just 17 when he first posed as a doctor in South Florida. Love even opened a clinic in Boynton Beach before being issued a cease-and-desist order from the Florida of Department of Health. Love was just sentenced to 3 years in prison.
More famous still is Ferdinand Waldo Demara, the “Great Imposter,” whose unusually high IQ and photographic memory helped him impersonate:
– A civil engineer
– A monk (on 2 separate occasions)
– An assistant warden at a Texas prison
– A philosophy dean at a Pennsylvania college
– A lawyer
– A zoology graduate
– A doctor of applied psychology
– A hospital orderly
– A combat surgeon
While impersonating a surgeon aboard a Royal Canadian Navy Destroyer during the Korean War, Demara was brought several combat casualties that needed emergency surgery. After ducking into his study with a medical textbook, he saved the life of every single man — including one who required major chest surgery.
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