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Hearing aid hustle revealed

Authorities say a man lured seniors with freebies, then illegally sold the devices.

By KAMEEL STANLEY
Published June 29, 2007

Martin K. Donaldson had a time-tested system for luring in the elderly people he eventually defrauded out of thousands of dollars, authorities say.

First, he hooked them with the promise of a free phone.

Next would come offers of a free hearing test.

Then, almost always, police said, those tests would end with a recommendation to buy an expensive hearing aid - which Donaldson just so happened to sell.

That, and other schemes like it, may have bamboozled seniors from Port Charlotte to Crystal River, state Department of Health officials said Thursday.

"For the last 22 years, he's been involved in unlicensed activity, " spokeswoman Eulinda Jackson said.

But Donaldson's familiar scam ended this week, when he tried it on an undercover investigator, authorities said.

Clearwater and Pinellas Park police officers arrested Donaldson, 59, of Largo on Tuesday afternoon on charges of practicing a health care profession and dispensing hearing aids without a license. Both are third-degree felonies.

The Department of Health's Unlicensed Activity Unit began investigating after getting complaints from area seniors who became suspicious of Donaldson and the business he ran at 5580 Park Blvd., West Coast Hearing Aid Service.

Investigators started getting reports that Donaldson and his associates- John Alexanders and Lanny Fraley - had been going around to 55-and-older communities and posing as agents for the Florida Telecommunications Relay Inc., Jackson said.

The state agency does offer free phones to Florida residents if they have a hearing problem documented by a licensed health official.

Donaldson was not licensed. In fact, he voluntarily relinquished his hearing aid specialist license in 1985, in lieu of disciplinary actions by the state.

Similarly, the state revoked Alexanders' hearing aid specialist license in 1997. Fraley, who was arrested Wednesday in Ohio, was never licensed by the department, Jackson said.

The men reportedly told seniors they needed to buy hearings aids that sold for $3, 000 to $5, 000 each, authorities said.

"He never gives anybody a phone, " said Sgt. Eric Leshick of the Pinellas Park Police Department. "That's the scam he was running. It's a complicated case."

Authorities aren't sure how many people were duped by Donaldson over the years, but said he did a lot of damage.

"He convinced a senior to not get surgery (the senior) already had scheduled with a licensed specialist ... and buy a hearing aid, " Jackson said.

In that case, Jackson said, the senior paid Donaldson $5, 000 for a device that really cost $800.

Leshick said Donaldson tried to downplay his activities during his arrest.

"He said something like, 'I thought this was a setup, ' " Leshick said. "Then in the next breath: 'I'm not doing anything wrong.' "

Donaldson was released from jail Tuesday after posting bail. Police are still looking for Alexanders.

Donaldson could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Fast Facts:

Were you victimized? Here's what to do

Authorities are still looking for victims who may have had contact with Donaldson, Alexanders, Fraley or West Coast Hearing Aid Service. Whom to call: People who received services should call 1-877-HALTULA.

[Last modified June 28, 2007, 22:21:24]