Indiana man gets 13 years for posing as Chicago psychiatrist

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 37-year-old Indiana man who was found guilty of posing as a psychiatrist was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison on Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors said Scott C. Redman stole the identity of a licensed physician to run a mental health clinic on the Near North Side of Chicago. He saw over 100 patients and prescribed medication to 57, including a 9-year-old boy. He pleaded guilty to pretending to be a psychologist. In November, a jury found him guilty.

DEA: You called yourself a doctor so people would assume they are coming to speak to a psychiatrist, no?

Redman: Well, wouldn't that just be like Dr. J the basketball player and Dr. Dre the rapper? Can't you just call yourself what you want?

Redman was being interrogated by a DEA agent during that recording. He was charged with 10 federal counts, including distributing a controlled substance, by the federal government.

DEA: The people you typically prescribe controlled substances to, what are you treating them for?

Redman: Could be anything from a panic disorder to schizophrenia or manic bipolar.

Redman showed no remorse Wednesday morning while reading his 20 minute statement, comparing the government's prosecution of him to the plight of Jesus, Joan of Arc, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Bill Cosby.

"Scott Redman is a very intelligent individual and has a genuine belief he can help people," said Redman's defense attorney, Gerald Collins. "Unfortunately he did not have the licensing requirements that are necessary to practice as a psychiatrist."

One of Redman's former patients, Gaylean Woods, said 13 years is not enough time.

"He presented himself as a doctor and said he had a PhD in psychology, been practicing for quite some time with a lot of different couples and families and children, so we started seeing him," said Woods.

Before the feds caught Redman posing as a psychiatrist, Woods said she and her husband saw Redman as a psychiatrist for marriage counseling, paying about $80 per session at his former Oak Lawn office.

"He had a diploma on his wall from Walden and he had a made up license from the State of Illinois saying he was Dr. Redman practicing psychotherapy," Woods said.

They called police of Redman after learning he was not licensed.

Redman still faces felony charges in Oak Lawn and another suburb. The federal judge Wednesday stated Redman shows disrespect for the law and a total lack of remorse for what he did.

Redman has requested to be placed in a federal prison in Florida.