A former Sarasota physician was arrested on allegations that he defrauded a man out of thousands by falsely diagnosing him with prostate cancer and then trying to cure him, according to Sarasota police.

Ronald Wheeler, 71, turned himself in to the Sarasota County jail on Monday where he was charged with scheming to defraud between $20,000 to $50,000, police said.

In May 2016, police said a man living in Kansas contacted Wheeler, who at the time was a licensed physician specializing in urology and the treatment of prostate cancer. Over the phone, Wheeler told the man that he likely had prostate cancer and needed to start taking chemotherapy drugs immediately. But police said Wheeler recommended treatment without actually examining the patient in person.

After the patient underwent a physical exam and ultrasound, police said, Wheeler told him that he had an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer. But Wheeler made that diagnosis after failing to perform a tissue biopsy, police said, which is the "minimal standard of care" according to the Florida Board of Medicine.

Wheeler then sent the victim to a doctor in Connecticut in June 2016 who told him there were no signs of cancer according to a tissue biopsy. But police said Wheeler told the patient they missed the cancer.

In August 2016, the victim paid $46,500 to Wheeler for a High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) procedure to cure his cancer, police said. After a delay, the patient received a refund.

The patient again paid the $46,500 in November 2016. But after the patient's personal physician told him to find another doctor to treat his cancer, police said. Wheeler agreed to refund his money, police said, then cut off communication with the patient.

During this time, police said, Wheeler never told the patient that he was about to lose his medical license due to multiple cases of malpractice. Wheeler lost his medical license on April 20, 2017, but police said he never told the patient. Instead, the patient learned from another doctor that Wheeler had no license to practice medicine — and that he did not have cancer.

An arrest warrant for Wheeler was issued on Feb. 27, and he turned himself in Monday. He was freed that day after posting $50,000 bail.