$cam is a ‘psych out’: DA
‘Fake-shrink’ bust
A Los Angeles man was accused on Thursday of masquerading as a state-licensed shrink in Brooklyn in a long-running scheme that defrauded at least a dozen patients and fooled the city Probation Department.
Glenn Payne, 60, was charged in a 55-count indictment alleging that he scammed more than $30,000 while illegally practicing neuropsychology on children, adolescents and adults from June 2012 through May 2018.
Payne didn’t accept insurance and charged patients $60 to $250 a session, payable in cash or via Chase QuickPay or electronic transfers, court papers say.
He worked in an office at 300 Cadman Plaza West in Brooklyn Heights, the Maple Medical office building in Prospect Lefferts Gardens and the offices of the nonprofit Kings Against Violence Initiative at Kings County Hospital in East Flatbush, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said.
Payne, who lived in Glen Cove, LI, went on the lam last year when he learned investigators were interviewing his patients, a lawenforcement source said.
He spent time in Las Vegas before settling in LA, where he was busted recently and extradited to New York, the source said.
Payne was allegedly assisted by his girlfriend, Vernette Tobierre, 46, who was busted in January.
The top charge against them, third-degree grand larceny, carries a maximum of seven years in prison.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said an investigation was ongoing.
Payne’s patients included an unidentified “juvenile probationer” for whom he repeatedly submitted paperwork “as proof of compliance with the terms of [the juvenile’s] court-ordered probation,” court papers say.
Payne’s submissions allegedly included a July 25, 2016, “progress note” and two “bio-psychosocial updates” dated May 1, 2017, and Aug. 14, 2017.
The Probation Department blamed its acceptance of Payne’s psychological reports on an unidentified Family Court judge.
“The juvenile was already under treatment by Payne prior to probation and ordered by the court to continue that treatment,” said department spokeswoman Candace Sandy.