Everybody needs a hobby [Pt 4 in a long running series]

Such as...setting up office in Melbourne as a gynaecologist and fertility expert when you didn't even graduate from university at all, let alone qualify as an actual doctor.   This is something that's apparently not that hard to do:

He saw a further 23 people who were desperate to become parents and who, collectively, over hundreds of hours put their hopes in his hands, at his rooms in Brighton and St Kilda Road, Melbourne.

But it was all a sham. The women weren't pregnant.

In truth Dr Raff wasn't a gynaecologist, he wasn't even a doctor. He was nothing but a charlatan. He had studied at university but never gained any tertiary qualifications....

On top of all this, the aspiring parents paid Raffaele Di Paolo a combined $385,000 over a decade-long con during which he claimed he was a gynaecologist, obstetrician and an expert in fertility matters, with qualifications from Melbourne and Italy.

Di Paolo, 61, is now in jail waiting sentence after being found guilty of fraud, indecent assault and sexual penetration charges following a recent County Court trial, during which he denied the allegations.

How did he do it?  Simples:

Prosecutor Ray Gibson told the jury Di Paolo registered a company named Artemedica and purported to be a properly registered and qualified doctor and gynaecologist, and went as far as hiring a retired obstetrician and gynaecologist to assist him two days a week.  His patients came to him after having unsuccessful fertility treatment elsewhere, although in some cases women were referred to him by chiropractors or osteopaths. One couple was referred to him by a doctor at the Epworth Hospital.

 This is a very strange story.