Fake doctor admits fraud, claims did not cause deaths

A 47-year-old man accused of posing as a doctor and contributing to the death of three cancer patients has allegedly admitted to claiming qualifications he never possessed but claims he never encouraged patients to stop their conventional treatments.

The suspect, who was identified as Nikos Kontothanasis and remanded in custody on Monday, reportedly apologized to the families of three patients who died in his care but denied urging them to replace the treatment they were receiving with remedies he purchased off the internet, some containing cannabis. He admitted that he was not a certified neurosurgeon, as he had claimed to his patients and their families.

Kontothanasis faces three counts of murder over the deaths of the two teenage boys and a 76-year-old man, as well as multiple counts of fraud as investigators have traced at least 45 individuals who came under his care. In the meantime, an additional 35 witnesses have come forward.