Friday, January 8, 2010

Saanich counselling clinic operator accused of false degree claims, charged with fraud

Here we have yet another perpetrator of fraud who was tied in with the DV Industry and went so far as to make a fraudulent report to obtain a restraining order against a father. There is a great deal of corruption in this Industry and this is another example. I would hazard there are many more cases he has been involved in based on his MO and affiliations.  The DV industry motto is "the end justifies the means". That he is also a Liberal supporter is interesting. The Liberal Pink Book lll is  a bible of misandry! MJM






Well-known Victoria man charged with fraud





Jason Matthew Walker is still listed as a doctor on the door pf his business, Health Point  Consulting Inc. , although he has been accused of false degree claims

 

Jason Matthew Walker is still listed as a doctor on the door pf his business, Health Point Consulting Inc. , although he has been accused of false degree claims

Photograph by: Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist

A well-known Victoria man who operated a counselling clinic in Saanich and taught courses at the University of Victoria has been charged with fraud, accused of falsely claiming to hold two doctoral degrees.

Jason Matthew Walker, 31, was arrested Dec. 31 after Saanich police searched the offices of Health Point Consulting at 4430 Chatterton Way in Saanich. He has since been released and will appear in court Jan. 21.

Walker is well known in the region, having volunteered with Saanich police as a reserve constable, served as a civilian member of the Greater Victoria Victim Services board, worked for the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the B.C. Coroners Service, served as the Liberal constituency association president for the federal Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca riding and taught courses at the University of Victoria's School of Child and Youth Care.

According to his UVic website biography, which has since been taken down, Walker said he holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology, a master's degree in social work and two PhDs. It also lists him as a registered social worker, and indicates that he has worked as a paramedic, a child-protection investigator with Toronto police and Toronto's Children's Aid Society, a manager of public education for the B.C. Ambulance Service, an auditor and adviser for the Capital Health Region, and a policy adviser for the province.

The sign on his Health Point office indicates Walker has a master's degree in social work and a PhD, and is a registered clinical counsellor.

To the Saanich police, all those credentials didn't add up for someone of Walker's age.
Officers began investigating Walker in August after he reported to police that one of his clients, a six-year-old child, claimed he had been abused by his father. The child's mother had solicited Walker's counselling services privately, as part of a custody battle, said Saanich police spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Fast.

At the time, Walker presented himself to Saanich police as a doctor of forensic and behavioural sciences, and of medical epidemiology. As a result of the child's allegations and Walker's report and sworn affidavit, a restraining order was placed against the child's father.
Fast said police are reviewing the restraining order, but any decision to rescind or modify it would be up to the courts.

In connection with the child-custody issue, Walker is charged with defrauding a Greater Victoria woman of $120 on Aug. 12 and $150 on Aug. 17 by representing himself as a qualified doctor and rendering services while claiming to have two doctoral degrees. Walker is also charged with making a false affidavit on Aug. 26. He's alleged to have made a report when he was not specially permitted, authorized or required to make a statement under oath.

Finally, Walker is charged with knowingly using forged documents that indicated he held a doctorate in medical sciences from the University of Calgary, a doctorate in philosophy from Smith College and a diploma in human behavioural science from the Yale School of Medicine.
Asked if Walker was accused of representing himself as a medical doctor, or as someone with doctoral degrees, Fast said that's not the focus of the investigation. "It's simply the fact that he was representing himself as a doctor ... to people in the community."

Susan Prins, spokeswoman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, said Walker was not registered with the organization.

Yesterday, Sharon Orr, office manager at Health Point Consulting Inc., said Walker was away on leave until after Jan. 22. She could not say whether he was still in the city.

"This has all been a big surprise to me," said Orr.

The clinic, which is owned by Walker, includes a group of health-related independent businesses that rent space from Walker and sometimes refer clients to one another. Orr said the other practitioners, including a chiropractor and an exercise therapist, are not Walker's business partners.

One of them, Tanis Danyluk, a reiki master and nutritionist, said she didn't know about the allegations and declined comment, calling Walker "a friend and colleague."

Yesterday, the lights were out in Walker's small but plush office, the walls bare where credentials had been removed by police. On a sideboard, a framed photo shows Walker with retired Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire.

Walker was unavailable for comment. His lawyer, Jeff Green, said Walker won't "discuss this matter with anyone until we get more information." Green would not say how his client will plead.

Walker was released on condition that he appear in Victoria provincial court Jan. 21. He was ordered to remove all display notices, advertising or Internet sites that refer to him by the title of doctor or make any reference to him possessing a doctorate of any kind from any educational institution by Jan. 10.

Yesterday, his office window still displayed his name as Dr. Jason Walker, but the clinic's website had been taken down.

jhatherly@tc.canwest.com

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