SWFL doctor accused of fraud, removed from plane at RSW

A doctor accused of scamming his patients was arrested Monday evening on an Air Canada flight at Southwest Florida International Airport.

There was a warrant out for the arrest of Darren Kurtzer, 33, when he was located on the flight headed to Canada.

The details of the arrest are laid out in his five-page warrant in which police say he conducted a scheme while working at the American Institute of Balance as an audiologist.

Kurtzer is accused of selling overpriced damaged or used hearing aids to patients and pocketing the difference for himself, according to the warrant.

He’s accused of using “square payment” to deposit money into his personal account rather than his employees, according to the warrant.

The American Institute of Balance says the scheme resulted in a loss of more than $9,000.

The owners of the hearing center were caught off guard by the accusations against Kurtzer and said they thought he was a model employee with great people skills.

“He’s been nice with our patients, he’s clinically sound, there were a lot of very good things going on. So this all catches us by surprise,” said John Hoglund, coowner of the hearing center.

Boyd Jenney is one of five patients Kurtzer is accused of defrauding. Jenney paid close to $2,700 for a hearing aid that later broke.

“He’s working for a good company. So everything he said, I had to believe. He’s a doctor, why wouldn’t I believe him?” Jenney said.

WINK News reporter Chris Grisby has more information. Watch the video below:

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