Man Who Faked Disabilities, Used Special Accommodations To Undergo Evaluation

James George Douris lived a lie, according to Bucks County authorities.

The 60-year-old Upper Makefield resident said he was so handicapped he couldn’t even make it to his front door to retrieve court papers or hold a glass of water. In reality, according to court documents and photographs taken during an extensive investigation, he was able to walk, climb onto the roof of his home and even build a tree house.

This week, Douris was convicted by a jury of perjury, forgery, fabricating evidence and false statements under oath for submitting false documents before Falls Township District Judge Jan Vislosky. He later pleaded guilty to allegations he lied before County Judge Robert J. Mellon.

Douris will undergo a psychological evaluation before being sentenced, according to Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Long and defense attorney John Fioravanti.

Douris, a unemployed Navy veteran, is notorious for filing lawsuits against local and state government for claims they violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. Of note, he has lost the lawsuits nearly every time. He was so notorious with local government officials that one said he knew Douris would try to find a reason to sue the second he pulled into the parking lot of a Bucks County municipal complex several years back.

The litigious Upper Makefield resident was under the watch of Bucks County Detectives and even his suspicious neighbors for several years before charges were filed last year. Detectives even set up surveillance cameras to monitor Douris as he took part in activities his alleged disabilities would have prohibited him from doing.

In 2011, Douris submitted fake billing documents to Vislosky’s court in connection with a civil case he had against Charles Becker of Levittown and Becker Tree Service Inc., authorities alleged in court papers. The faked documents were filed in 2011 and helped make the case the tree service caused $5,000 in alleged damages due to “faulty work by the tree service that he hired,” according to court papers and a press release.

In 2014, Douris allegedly lied several times to Mellon about his alleged disabilities during a hearing related to a civil case. He told the judge he was not able to walk or write and even told Mellon what his alleged conditions were.

Douris appeared to keep up his charade until the end. Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Ben Finley wrote that Douris even used a wheelchair this week when leaving his trial at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown.

“As far as I know he’s still using the wheelchair in public, though from our evidence it’s pretty clear he doesn’t use it at home or when he goes to certain other places, such as his deceased mother-in-law’s house in Hamilton, NJ,” Long said.

Over the course Douris’ various visits to Bucks County courtrooms, he has requested  a “certified note taker, he requests food to be provided by the court (usually denied), he wants all court documents blown up onto big pieces of paper and in at least 16 point Courier new font, and he claims he can’t hear well so he has the court system provide him with a head set that is connected to the microphone system in the courtroom,” according to Long.

Fioravanti said he suspects his client has mental health issues that played into his actions, but he stated he would elaborate more at the 60 year old’s sentencing. No one answered a phone number listed online for Douris.

Douris gained international attention when he sued the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare for not providing his “service dog” with food stamps in 2010. He didn’t win the lawsuit, like most of the ones he filed.

“He’s had so many cases,” District Attorney David Heckler said last year of Douris’ history of civil filings. “We’ve looked at him for years.”

“Many of the aforesaid misrepresentations over the years appear not to have been committed within Bucks County’s jurisdiction,” court papers noted.

Long said the county is working to find out how much Douris’ special accommodations cost taxpayers.  He confirmed that restitution will be sought by the county.

“He’s wasted a ridiculous amount to time and resources from Bucks county, various townships, the Federal Court system, and citizens in general. We’re going to get back what we can.”