KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha County man accused of pretending to be an eye doctor and scamming people out of their money is facing more charges.
Court records show 53-year-old Lee L. Hagopian is facing an additional two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping. He was already convicted of practicing optometry without a license in August 2021.
Hagopian was previously charged with the misdemeanors Practice Optometry w/o License, two counts of Theft-False Representation <=$2500, Practice Optometry w/o License and Dispense Prescribed Drug w/o Prescription.
Court officials set cash bond at $5,000. His pre-trial conference is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2023. He is facing the bail jumping charges for allegedly skipping court appearances for the fake optometry practice charges in September and October of 2022.
According to a criminal complaint obtained on Thursday, a man paid the defendant almost $700 for an eye exam and a pair of glasses. The defendant then inspected the patient's eyes. But the victim says after the exam, he never got the glasses, even though the check he gave the defendant to pay for the exam and glasses was cashed.
The victim says he called the business, Next Day Glasses and Contacts, but no one ever responded. That business is located at 7419 256th Avenue in the Village of Paddock Lake.
Investigators at the business called the owner but did not get a response. Staff at the Paddock Lake Village Hall told investigators the defendant was previously in the news for practicing optometry without a license.
Investigators also talked to another victim who said they believed the defendant had a bed in the back of the Same Day Glasses business. They said they got an eye exam from the defendant and paid $400 for a pair of glasses and the services. Several months later the victim says they were experiencing headaches and went to an eye doctor in Burlington, where they were diagnosed with eye astigmatism. It was a condition not brought up by the defendant during his exam.
Hagopian was convicted of practicing optometry without a license in August of 2021 in Kenosha County.
If found guilty on the new charges, he could face several years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
