Doctor? No, from Russia with fraud
Berg’s KGB psychiatrist claims shut down as jury finds him guilty
FOR almost two decades Vincent Berg held tight to the lie he was a fully trained psychiatrist educated in secret by the KGB.
A jury in the Southport District Court yesterday found those claims were false, sending him into custody after finding Berg guilty of four counts of fraud, two counts of attempted fraud and one count of forgery.
The 67-year-old will spend the next month in jail awaiting a sentencing date where he will face up to 14 years’ prison as one of the frauds gained him more than $30,000.
Berg’s deception began with him faking a medical diploma to get a job as a clinical observer at the Gold Coast Hospital in 1999 and then as a treating psychiatrist in the Townsville Health Service from 1999 to 2002.
He also tried for registration with the Queensland Medical Board and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of psychiatrists.
Yesterday, the Russian refugee took a deep breath in each time jury’s foreman read the guilty verdict.
The final determination was a long time in the making after a more than 10-year investigation into the matter.
Allegations against Berg first came to light in 2005 during the Morris Inquiry into Queensland Health was launched after Dr Jayant Patel faked his qualifications in Bundaberg.
At the time, the inquiry was told Berg refused to work under supervision, would change medication for no reason and was put on strict supervision.
It was not until 2009, Berg was charged with fraud and assault.
Earlier in the week, the court found there was not enough evidence Berg had assaulted any of his patients.
For the nine years the court process was hit with a string of delays.
Berg changed lawyers a number of times, asked to be tried in the Mental Health Court and appealed the decision he was fit to stand trial.
Police investigators were sent to Russia to chase up claims he had studied medicine at a secret KGB faculty at the Vorenhez State University.
Throughout the years of delay, Berg remained adamant he had been trained by the Russian KGB.
“It was a special degree meant to be used only for KGB purposes,” he defiantly told the jury when giving evidence.
During the three-week trial Berg stuck to his story, every morning shuffling into the courtroom, his shoulders hunched over with age and his son, Andreas Berg by his side.
He spoke with a thick Russian accent despite moving to Australia in 1992 fleeing persecution in Russia due to his position as an Anglican Bishop.
It was the Anglican Church which helped him gain asylum in Australia.
The medical diplomas were not forged and the KGB took his diploma off him when he left Russia, Berg claimed
He told the jury he only got them back when a KGB agent in 1994 asked him to get a job at the ABC or SBS in order to plant stories regarding Russia.
Berg got frustrated with the prosecutor when she repeated questions and had to be instructed to answer them again.
Other questions he refused to answer, claiming it was safer not to.
Since he was sacked from the Townsville Health Service, Berg has been on the disability pension for mental health issues and lived with his son in Coomera.
The pair took the bus each morning to court in order to avoid traffic already building ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Andreas left the courthouse on his own yesterday afternoon.
“My feelings are irrelevant,” he told The Gold Coast Bulletin.
Berg is highly educated, even without the claimed medical degree.
In the early 1970s he completed a degree in mathematics with a focus on engineering
IT WAS A SPECIAL DEGREE MEANT TO BE USED ONLY FOR KGB PURPOSES
VINCENT BERG GIVING EVIDENCE TO THE JURY
before completing a doctorate in sociology.
He studied a second doctorate at Griffith University in the mid-1990s.
His education was not enough to battle the evidence.
Four witnesses were flown to the Gold Coast from Russia.
None could find evidence of him studying at the university or the institution ever having a link to the KGB.
One document he claimed was a list of subjects was obviously typed on a computer, despite being dated prior to computers being in wide use.
Berg will undergo psychological testing ahead of his sentencing in coming months.