DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—No convictions reported to medical board as of 2/28/2015; Licensee agreed to never activate his registration to practice medicine or reapply for licensure due to NC Board Action; Public letter of concern—6/17/2008
HICKORY, N.C. – An emergency room doctor arrested after a state trooper said he was driving erratically Saturday morning admitted he was on Percocet, according to an affidavit filed in Hickory District Court.
Gary Wayne Greer, 61, of 4943 Elmhurst Drive NE, Hickory, was charged with driving while impaired and reckless driving to endanger, according to court records.
Greer is an emergency room physician at Catawba Valley Medical Center licensed by the North Carolina Medical Board, the board’s website said.
The incident happened at 7:24 a.m. Saturday, according to the affidavit, which said the suspect drove off the roadway several times and admitted to taking Percocet. The affidavit said he was unable to perform psychophysical tests or release his seatbelt, and was unaware of his location.
Percocet is a prescription pain reliever.
The suspect was driving a vehicle on N.C. 16 near Conover, according to a collision report.
As the vehicle headed south, it veered off the roadway to the right, crashed into an embankment, went through a field, ended up back on the highway, and continued south, according to information provided by a state trooper in the affidavit.
Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $1,500.
The incident is not the first time the doctor has been investigated for possible misuse of prescription medications.
The North Carolina Medical Board previously investigated Greer for allegedly prescribing drugs to himself and a family member.
“Between November 2005 and July 2006, and perhaps on other occasions yet to be discovered by the Board, Dr. Greer wrote prescriptions for himself, for medications including Ambien, Paroxetine, an anti-depressant, Prednisone and Nexium,” a letter from the board dated April 2007 said. The letter noted Greer failed to keep records of the prescriptions.
The same letter accused Greer of providing prescriptions for hydrocodone, Ambien and ciprofloxacin for a “close family member” between February and December 2006.
In December 2007, the North Carolina Medical Board closed its investigation and sent Greer a letter.
“It is this Board’s decision not to commence formal proceedings against your license to practice medicine at this time,” the letter said. “However, the Board did vote to issue you this public letter of concern.”
Greer’s court date for the charges stemming from the Saturday incident is Dec. 9. (LINK) — 10/29/2014
Felony conviction for unlawful interference with a helicopter by flashing bright lights at a police helicopter; ability to practice medicine safely is impaired because of mental illness. License revoked. Effective April 18, 2002 (LINK) — 7/23/2002
UCLA Health System fined by federal officials over banned doctor
Federal officials fined UCLA Health System $470,000 for allowing an anesthesiologist who was banned from Medicare and other federal programs to treat patients and bill the government for their care.
Dr. John Edward Miller, an anesthesiologist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, was excluded from federal programs from April 2009 to November 2013 while working there, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The information was obtained by The Times under a Freedom of Information Act request.
Miller had been banned from participating in Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs in 2003 after California revoked his medical license in connection with substance abuse problems.
State officials reinstated his medical license in 2008, but Miller wasn’t taken off the federal list of excluded providers until December 2013.
UCLA discovered the problem with Miller’s exclusion from Medicare and disclosed it to federal officials this year, records show.
The inspector general’s office of HHS concluded that UCLA “knew or should have known that Miller was excluded from participation in all federal healthcare programs and that no federal healthcare program payments could be made for items or services furnished by Miller.”
UCLA agreed last month to pay $470,423 as part of a settlement agreement.
The university attributed the problem to human error and software problems.
“Once the errors were unearthed, UCLA took prompt action, reported the matter to the Department of Health and Human Services and conducted a thorough audit to confirm that no other members of the UCLA medical staff are or were on the exclusion list,” the university said.
“Our processes and software for ensuring that physicians are not on the exclusion list have been updated. We believe this was truly a ‘one off’ occurrence,” it said.
Henry Fenton, an attorney for Miller, said the doctor has overcome his past problems and “he’s a fine doctor.”
In state disciplinary records, Miller said he had become addicted to cocaine in the late 1990s.
In 1997, his supervisor at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood suspected that he was impaired, and a year later Miller was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, records show.
He was convicted in 2000 for unlawful interference with an aircraft by flashing lights at a helicopter, according to the medical board. California pulled his license two years later.
According to state records, Miller said that he sought rehabilitation for drug addiction and that he last used cocaine in 2005.
The medical board restored his license in 2008 and ended his probation early at the recommendation of his UCLA supervisors, who praised Miller’s skills. (LINK) — 10/23/2014
BOARD ORDER - Medical license permanently revoked to take effect on the thirty-first day following the effective date of the order. Based on the doctor’s conviction in the Hamilton County, Ohio, Municipal Court on one misdemeanor count of assault, which was based on the doctor’s assault of a female medical assistant and on the doctor ‘s inappropriate sexual conduct with two specified patients. Order effective February 3, 2015.
CITATION - Based on the doctor’s conviction in the Hamilton County, Ohio, Municipal Court on one misdemeanor count of assault, which was itself based on the doctor’s assault of a female medical assistant and on allegations that the doctor engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with two specified patients. Notice of opportunity for hearing mailed 12/12/13.
Medical Board Strips License Of “G-Spot” Doc— Ohio gynecologist copped to improper sexual contact
A disciplinary panel has voted to strip an Ohio gynecologist of his medical license for inappropriate behavior with two patients, both of whom the physician helped find their respective “G-spots” before engaging in further sexual contact, according to state records.
The State Medical Board of Ohio last month voted to sanction Dr. Kurt Froehlich, a Cincinnati doctor who has been licensed to practice medicine since 1993. A medical board member who voted to permanently revoke Froehlich’s license called the case against the 48-year-old physician (seen above) the “most crude” he had seen in 40 years.
In fact, medical board members were so troubled by Froehlich’s actions that they rejected a hearing examiner’s recommendation that he be suspended for at least a year (and then placed on probation upon his return to practice).
According to board records, the two patients with whom Froehlich had sexual contact were employees at Bethesda North Hospital in Cincinnati, where he “performed 98 percent of his deliveries.” Froehlich, a solo practitioner, told state officials that he sees 30 patients daily and delivers 24 babies a month.
In hearing testimony, Froehlich said that at the conclusion of his first appointment with “Patient 1” in 2010, she asked him “a question about arousal and the location of the ‘G-spot.’” Usually when faced with such an inquiry, Froehlich said, he would “diagram a picture of where anatomically it is and how the best way to reach it is.”
But “Patient 1,” Froehlich testified, “asked if I would show her where it is.” So “that entailed her lying back down, me putting on a glove, doing an exam again, just showing her basically where it is.” The OB/GYN added that he “did not stimulate Patient 1 to orgasm at that time.”
During a subsequent meeting at the hospital, Froehlich testified, “Patient 1” again asked him to locate her “G-spot.” “Dr. Froehlich acknowledged that he stimulated her to orgasm in a call room of the hospital on that occasion,” medical board records note. A week later, Froehlich had sex with the woman at the hospital. “The next day when I made rounds, I just said that she’s married, I’m married, we shouldn’t be doing this, this is not the person who I want to be; she agreed,” testified Froehlich, who admitted that he was aware at the time of the sexual encounters that they were inappropriate.
Froehlich acknowledged that he had not recorded his unorthodox “G-spot” discussions or tutorials in the medical records of either patient. Froehlich, records show, blamed his behavior on stress caused by the death of his mother-in-law, difficulties with his medical practice, his prostate cancer diagnosis, and a diet regimen he was following.
In addition to evidence about Froehlich’s sexual contact with patients, the medical board also considered his 2013 no contest plea to assaulting a female medical assistant. The woman testified that Froehlich slipped his hand under her shirt and groped her breast one night in his office. He also allegedly sought to shove his hand down her pants.
During a discussion last month about Froehlich’s case, members of the Ohio medical board appeared appalled by the doctor’s actions. A female board member called his behavior “absolutely intolerable” and said that, “for a gynecologist to behave in this manner is base, crude, and unacceptable.” Another board member remarked that Froehlich “felt so powerful that he performed stimulation in a hospital call room.” A third board member said that Froehlich “did not take ownership for his actions,” but instead “made excuses and tried to rationalize his behavior.”
The medical board’s decision to revoke–rather than suspend–Froehlich’s license caused the doctor’s lawyer to try and interrupt a January 14 meeting at the group’s Columbus headquarters. After being told he was out of order, attorney James McGovern persisted in trying to address the panel, prompting the board’s president to have an Ohio State Highway Patrol officer escort him from the meeting room.
Probation: THREE YEARS PROBATION WITH VARIOUS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. DURING PROBATION, DR. FRIEDBERG IS PROHIBITED FROM SUPERVISING PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS.—2/19/2015
Woman Goes to Smile Implant Center in Newport Beach, Dies; Daughter of Deceased Wins Malpractice Suit
Los Angeles resident Paula Kane went to the Smile Implant Center in Newport Beach for dental implants after seeing a newspaper advertisement in January 2010. When she entered the facility around 9:30 a.m., anesthesiologist Dr. Barry Friedberg administered her drugs while she stayed awake–Kane’s anesthesia of choice for the procedure known as “oral conscious sedation.” Hours later, she went into respiratory arrest; her blood turned dark, according to one of the dental assistants present; deadly combination of propofol–the same drug that killed Michael Jackson–along with benzodiazepines had shut down Kane’s respiratory system. When she was taken to the hospital, doctors diagnosed her as brain dead. A few days later, her daughter, Tanisha Mitchell, took the 57-year-old off life support.
Mitchell filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the center’s owner, Dr. Thomas Teich, and Friedberg; Orange County jurors found both men guilty of wrongful death two years later on May 22, 2012. Teich did not have a permit to administer oral conscious sedation, while Friedberg had been unregistered with the Dental Board of California for general anesthesia.
“I would think you don’t expect to go in for dental implants and be overdosed on propofol and die especially when that patient has gone in thinking [he or she] will get drugs like valium,” said Mitchell’s attorney Jeffrey Wolf of Heimanson and Wolf, LLP in Los Angeles.
The verdict outlined $635,000 for pain and suffering damages, but was then reduced to $250,000 per California’s cap on non-economic damages. Both men will equally split the cost.
Teich, who still practices in Newport Beach, is not unfamiliar to malpractice lawsuits. He’s been charged with medical malpractice twice before in California, and is currently involved in 13 other malpractice cases.
Teich moved to California from Arizona several years after the Arizona Board of Dental Examiners revoked his license in August, 1994 due to insurance fraud, repeated acts of gross negligence and unprofessional conduct among other charges. He spent eight months in federal prison for committing the felony of mail fraud, according to a stipulation agreement.
Six years later, he got his license back on a probationary basis in 1999, during which he applied and obtained a California dental license in 2002. Even after the move, the malpractice suits piled up against Teich, to the point that Richard DeCuir, executive officer of the state’s dental board, filed a complaint in April, 2011 requesting the board revoke Teich’s license, citing record of failing to upkeep medical records, personal injury against patients, unprofessional conduct and gross negligence again.
DeCuir filed the complaint in April, 2011; four months later, Teich paid $72,400 in an arbitration award to a former patient for injury including nerve damage in another lawsuit. DeCuir’s accusations are currently still pending a decision according to Russ Heimerich, spokesperson for the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The Medical Board of California has yet to subject Friedberg to any disciplinary actions. Friedberg, who describes himself as “your friendly, neighborhood anesthesiologist” on his website, continues to practice anesthesiology, and run a private, nonprofit foundation called Goldilocks Anesthesia. He authored Getting Over, Going Under: 5 Things You Must Know Before Anesthesia, and spoke about anesthesia to various outlets during the Michael Jackson trial. (LINK) 6/07/2012 (Please read the comments that follow the article!)
Anesthesiologist accused of talking on phone during dental surgery gets probation
A local anesthesiologist who wasaccused by the state medical board of using his cell phone instead ofmonitoring a patient who died during oral surgery has been placed on probation for three years.
The Medical Board of California disciplined Dr. Barry Lynn Friedberg on Feb. 3, more than five years after 57-year-old Paula Kane went into cardiac arrest during an operation to replace her dental implants at Smile Implant Center in Newport Beach.
Friedberg and the dentist performing the surgery, Thomas John Teich – who has since relinquished his dental license – delayed calling 911, then Friedberg interfered with paramedics as they resuscitated her, according to the medical board. Kane never regained consciousness and died four days later in a hospital.
Friedberg – who, according to the state dental board, did not have a permit to administer anesthesia in a dental office – had given Propofol and Ketamine to Kane.
The medical board said he did not use equipment such as an EKG and a precordial stethoscope to monitor Kane even though she was “predisposed to respiratory compromise, respiratory distress and respiratory obstruction due to the synergistic effect of the drugs that he administered.”
The board also said it had evidence that Friedberg was talking on his cell phone instead of “addressing potentially significant changes in (Kane’s) status.”
“One technician from the procedure testified that Dr. Friedberg refused to end his call when she tried to warn him of a problem with the patient,” said Jeff Wolf, an attorney representing Kane’s daughter, Tanisha Mitchell. “We are gratified that the California Medical Board has finally decided to take action.”
In 2012, Wolf won a medical malpractice lawsuit he had filed on behalf of Mitchell against Friedberg and Teich. A jury awarded Mitchell the maximum $250,000 in damages.
Facing disciplinary action from the Dental Board of California, Teich surrendered his license last spring. Smile Implant Center has since closed.
While on probation, Friedberg is barred from supervising physician assistants and his work must be monitored by another anesthesiologist. He was also required to take ethics and educational courses.
Neither Friedberg nor his attorney could be reached for comment. His website says he heads a nonprofit called the Goldilocks Anesthesia Foundation, which is devoted to educating doctors and the public about “the dangers of over- and under-medicating with general anesthesia.” The foundation is registered as a public charity in Newport Beach, according to an online IRS database. (LINK) —2/25/2015
Four years probation with various terms and conditions.
Doctor Arrested for Prescription Fraud
On February 20, 2015, members of the Health Quality Investigation Unit (HQIU) of the California Division of Investigation (formerly known as the Medical Board of California) and the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (PCU) arrested Dr. Randolph Nordyke for multiple Health and Safety Code and Penal Code violations at his home in San Diego, California.
The HQIU and PCU concluded an investigation into Podiatrist Randolph Nordyke on February 20, 2015, with his arrest and service of a search warrant at his home. Investigators recently learned Dr. Nordyke, who was reportedly retired from his Ventura practice, was doctor shopping, and falsifying prescriptions, in order to feed his own oxycodone addiction. Dr. Nordyke, on multiple occasions, wrote prescriptions in one of his former Ventura County patient’s name for large amounts of oxycodone. Dr. Nordyke then went to Ventura and San Diego area pharmacies and picked up the prescriptions posing as the husband of the patient. Dr. Nordyke was also visiting multiple doctors in the Ventura County area to obtain oxycodone prescriptions.
Dr. Nordyke was arrested for charges including identity theft, unlawfully prescribing controlled substances, forging prescriptions, and burglary. The investigation is continuing as to the extent of his “doctor shopping” as well as identifying other potential identity theft victims.
Dr. Nordyke relinquished his privilege to prescribe controlled substances to the Drug Enforcement Administration who also assisted in the investigation.
Dr. Nordyke was booked at Ventura County Main Jail with bail set at $50,000.
The Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit is a task force comprised of members from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Simi Valley Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation, and the California Highway Patrol. The primary mission of the task force is combatting the transfer of legal prescription medication to the illegal market.
In addition, the task force works to identify and stop new trends of abuse among the younger population and investigates overdose deaths due to both prescription medication and illicit drug use. Anyone with information regarding these topics is encouraged to contact the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit at (805) 383-8700 or via e-mail at [email protected] (LINK) — 2/21/2015
MEDICAL BOARD RECORD—ME79663 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License: Revoked Disobeying a police officer and resisting arrest—4/24/2008
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA—The State Attorney’s Office is appealing the sentence of a Perdido Key physician who received no prison time after being convicted of traveling to meet a juvenile for sex.
Dr. Brian Mitchell Lee, 43, reportedly engaged in sexually explicit email conversations with an undercover investigator he believed to be a 14-year-old boy. He was arrested after traveling to meet the “boy” for intercourse. After being convicted by an Escambia County jury in January, Lee was sentenced Monday by Circuit Judge Terry Terrell to sex offender status, two years of community control - a rough equivalent of house arrest - and 13 years probation.
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced today that his office is seeking to have Lee re-sentenced to at least 45 months in state prison, Lee’s recommended sentence based on statutory sentencing guidelines. Eddins said the only reasoning his office could determine for Lee’s original sentence was that Lee had been a “good doctor.”
“The only way a court can impose a lesser sentence is if there is a legally sufficient reason to deviate,” Eddins said. “Those reasons are pretty narrowly defined. I can find no case where there has been a deviation just because someone was good at their profession.”
Dr. Brian Lee was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Terry Terrell to community control - a rough equivalent of house arrest. Lee was also designated a sex offender and required to enter a sex offender treatment program. Lee was found guilty in January of traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual contact, unlawful use of a two-way communications device to facilitate the commission of a felony, and using a computer to solicit the sexual conduct of a child. (Photo: Ben Twingley/[email protected])
The State Attorney’s Office filed its appeal Tuesday. That appeal will go to the First District Court of Appeals, where a panel of three judges will review whether Terrell had sufficient legal grounds for imposing his sentence.
Lee’s defense attorney, Patrece Cashwell, will have the opportunity to file a written defense of the legality of sentence. Cashwell also has the option to appeal Lee’s conviction entirely.
Eddins estimated that the entire process will take between nine and 18 months. If the State Attorney’s Office appeal is successful, Lee will return to trial court for a new sentencing.
At his sentencing Monday, Lee told Terrell that he regretted his actions, and Cashwell said Lee had been in the midst of a clinically diagnosed depression at the time of his transgressions. About a half dozen witnesses testified Lee had been a caring and ethical physician who was an asset to the community.
Judge Terry D. Terrell listens to attorneys during the sentencing of Brian Lee on Monday. Lee was sentenced to two years community control, 13 years probabtion and given sex offender status on Monday for traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual contact, unlawful use of a two-way communications device to facilitate the commission of a felony, and using a computer to solicit the sexual conduct of a child. (Photo: Ben Twingley/[email protected])
However, State Assistant State Attorney Erin Ambrose said Lee wrote in his emails that he has “always been attracted to adolescent males,” and that Lee had described a young male patient he saw nude as “definitely cute.”
Lee has been allowed to continue treating juvenile’s at his practice, Perdido Key Family Care, provided he informs parents of his sex offender status and has other medical personnel present during treatment. A witness testified Monday that approximately 90 percent of Lee’s clients are above the age of 75. (LINK) — 2/24/2015
Double jeopardy in Perdido doctor sex case
A Perdido Key doctor found guilty of sex crimes involving a juvenile will be re-sentenced after a Florida appellate court determined some of his original convictions violated double jeopardy laws.
Brian Mitchell Lee, 46, formerly a family doctor at Perdido Bay Family Care, was arrested in January 2014 after he used Craigslist and text messages to arrange sexual intercourse with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old male. At trial, Lee was convicted of three offenses: traveling to meet a minor after using a computer to seduce, solicit or lure the minor; unlawful use of a two-way communications device; and use of a computer service to seduce, solicit or lure a person believed to be a child. He was ultimately sentenced to two years of community control and 13 years of probation, as well as being designated as a sexual offender.
Lee appealed his convictions and sentence, arguing his use of the phone and computer to contact the minor were elements of his travel after solicitation offense, not separate crimes. On Monday, the Florida First District Court of Appeal agreed, reversing two of Lee’s three convictions and writing, “We cannot presume with certainty that (Lee) was not convicted of the same act in all three counts.”
At trial, the prosecution presented evidence that Lee placed Craigslist ads in December 2013 seeking an encounter with a younger male. An investigator posing as a 14-year-old named “Matt” responded to an ad. For roughly the next 10 days, Lee exchanged messages with “Matt” that included “increasingly graphic and explicit suggestions of sexual activity,” court documents said.
Dr. Brian Lee was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Terry Terrell to community control - a rough equivalent of house arrest. Lee was also designated a sex offender and required to enter a sex offender treatment program. Lee was found guilty in January of traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual contact, unlawful use of a two-way communications device to facilitate the commission of a felony, and using a computer to solicit the sexual conduct of a child.
Lee disclosed in his messages he was a family doctor who was attracted to adolescent males, but said he treated his patients professionally and had never initiated a relationship with a juvenile. Lee arranged to meet “Matt” at a Pensacola skating rink Jan. 2, 2014, and Lee was taken into custody when he arrived. He was convicted following a January 2015 jury trial.
The recommended minimum sentence in the case was 45 months imprisonment, but the Circuit Judge Terry Terrell issued a lower sentence after concluding Lee suffered from depression when the incident occurred, and he provided such extraordinary care that his patients, primarily elderly adults, returned to him despite his criminal charges.
Lee appealed his conviction on the grounds of double jeopardy, arguing his texts to and meeting with “Matt” were all elements of one offense and should not have resulted in multiple convictions. The State Attorney’s Office filed a cross-appeal asking for a harsher sentence.
The state’s cross appeal was rejected, and in a majority opinion appellate judges agreed with Lee that only the traveling to meet a minor charge should stand.
“The information in the case did not allege distinct acts, the verdict form did not separate the acts, and the evidence presented to the jury was such that we cannot clearly determine that the acts underlying Lee’s convictions were separate,” the opinion said.
Judge Lori S. Rowe dissented in part with the majority opinion. Rowe argued there was evidence of multiple offenses, as Lee’s texts occurred over a period of multiple days. Rowe argued Lee had numerous opportunities to “pause” and “reflect,” and each time he formed new criminal intent and continued his activity.
The case has been remanded back to trial court for a new sentencing. A re-sentencing date has not yet been set, according to court records.
According to Florida Department of Health records, Lee’s medical license was revoked in February of this year as a result of his conviction. A voice message at Perdido Bay Family Care indicates the office is permanently closed. (LINK) — 11/28/2016
Perdido doctor to be resentenced for soliciting sex from minor
A Perdido doctor who was found guilty of traveling to meet with who he thought was a 14-year-old boy for sex will be resentenced.
In an opinion handed down Thursday by Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, a panel of judges affirmed and reversed parts of Brian Lee’s case.
During Lee’s sentencing in February 2015, the court downward departed from the state’s recommended 45 months to 25 years in state prison and decided to impose a sentence of two years of community control, followed by 13 years of probation. Lee’s adjudication was withheld, which means his record won’t show a conviction.
A cross-appeal followed, in which the state argued that the downward departure was inappropriate given the nature of the offenses, and Lee’s counsel claimed double jeopardy.
An appeal opinion in November also remanded the case back for resentencing, but agreed with Lee’s counsel that some of his charges violated double jeopardy laws.
However, Thursday’s opinion vacated the former document and upheld Lee’s three original charges, as well as demanded a resentencing on the grounds of improper downward departure.
Brian Lee was sentenced to two years community control and 13 years probation on Feb 23, 2015, for traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual contact, unlawful use of a two-way communications device to facilitate the commission of a felony and using a computer to solicit the sexual conduct of a child. (Photo: News Journal file photo)
Lee was charged with one count each of traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual conduct, unlawful use of a two-way communications device to facilitate the commission of a felony and using a computer to facilitate or solicit the sexual conduct of a child.
Lee’s argument was that the second two charges were included within the first, so for him to face the subsequent charges was double jeopardy.
Lee, then a family physician at Perdido Bay Family Care, was arrested in early 2014 after he posted an ad in the personals section of Craigslist looking for a man under the age of 25 and then began emailing a boy named “Matt.”
The boy was actually an undercover investigator, and the two messaged back and forth for close to two weeks before agreeing to meet for sex, according to court records.
Investigators arrested Lee when he arrived at the meeting and a search of his vehicle found erectile dysfunction medication. Lee later admitted during trial that the court’s record of the interaction between him and the undercover investigator was accurate, according to the appeal opinion.
During his sentencing, several of Lee’s patients testified he was a trustworthy doctor. All of those people were older than 50. The state argued that in his emails with investigators, Lee made sexual references about young male patients.
The appeals court upheld Lee’s three convictions, but called for a resentencing, claiming the trial court improperly downward departed the sentence.
According to the Florida Department of Health’s licensing database, Lee’s medical license was revoked last year because of the criminal charges.
Lee’s trial attorney, Patrece Cashwell, was not available for comment Thursday (LINK)—.6/01/2017
Ex-UI doctor’s license suspended over sex allegations
DES MOINES, IOWA—State regulators have indefinitely suspended the medical license of a former University of Iowa pediatrician and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine because of allegations that he sexually harassed co-workers.
Dr. Firas Rabi, 40, lost his UI job in 2010, after several nurses accused him of harassing them, according to documents released Thursday by the Iowa Board of Medicine.
The board filed administrative charges against Rabi’s license last year. He resisted the charges, but the board recently ruled against him after holding extensive hearings, the new documents show.
Several nurses testified that the doctor made inappropriate advances toward them, sometimes after they’d been drinking outside of work, the documents say. One of the women testified that she had sex with Rabi several times in a hospital “call room,” which is a place for physicians to rest while on call.
Board documents say Rabi, who was married, admitted some of the sexual conduct recounted by the women. But he claimed “the conduct was not unwanted by the recipients, did not interfere with any of the nurses’ performance and did not create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.”
The licensing board found that on balance, the nurses were more credible than the doctor. “The evidence shows that (Rabi) engaged in a practice of ingratiating himself with younger or newer nurses on the unit and then making sexual advances toward them. What (he) characterized as willing participation in unharmful ribald behavior appears to be more attributable to a desire by the nurses on the (pediatric intensive care unit) to ‘get along’ with a superior.”
Rabi’s lawyer, Michael Sellers, noted Thursday that none of the accusations involved allegations of poor patient care. Sellers said that the doctor is now working in Ohio, and his Iowa license has expired. “He’s been gone from Iowa for five years,” the lawyer said. Sellers said he couldn’t predict if the Iowa action would affect Rabi’s Ohio license, or if the doctor would appeal the Iowa board’s action in court. (LINK) — 2/19/2015
On or about May 15, 2014, respondent plead guilty to Counts 2, 9, 13, and 15, violating the Health and Safety Code section 11153(a), a felony. On or about May 15, 2014, respondent plead guilty to Count 1, violating Penal Code section 550(a)(6), felony. On or about May 15, 2014, respondent plead guilty to Count 1, violating Penal Code section 550(a)(6), and admitted the allegation enhancement- Penal Code section 186.11(a)(2); Count 2 - violating Penal Code section 550(a)(6); and Count 9 - violating RT 19705(a)(1).
Respondent entered into a stipulated settlement to four (4) years of state prison to run concurrent with Superior Court Case Nos. SCD251366 and SCD244404 and Federal Case CR14-0231.
Doctor accused of duping Medicare twice
SAN DIEGO - A local doctor has been arrested again, accused of illegally billing Medicare while he was behind bars. The state tells 10News the government shutdown is preventing them from knowing how he did it.
10News was in court as Dr. Jason Ling was arraigned Tuesday.
“He got paid $3,500 for Medicare for days that he was in jail,” said Deputy Attorney General Hardy Gold.
The state says Ling was in jail for writing bad prescriptions to addicts and drug dealers.
“There were times when patients would come in and said they were selling the drugs and Dr. Ling prescribed the drugs. So, that’s how things stood,” said Gold.
Ling was also on bail for another case where the state says he was linked to people who sold motorized wheelchairs, accused of fudging Medicare documents and giving the chairs to people who did not need them.
Medicare caught on to all of this and suspended his access, but that did not stop him. The state has no idea why.
“And because of the government shutdown, we can’t get access to the information to trace those steps and figure out how he was able to turn the tap back on,” said Gold.
The state says when the “tap” came back on, Ling drained it of more than $400,000 and until the shutdown in Washington is over, they will not know how he did it.
Ling has not been convicted of any of these crimes, but he is part of three active criminal investigations. (LINK) — 10/16/2013
Local Doctor to Spend Three Years in Prison for Fraudulently Billing Medicare
A former San Diego physician who billed taxpayers for fraudulent patient exams and phony prescriptions for power wheelchairs and medical equipment was sentenced to more than three years in prison Wednesday.
Deputy Attorney General Hardy Gold said Jason Ling used his medical license to “steal rather than heal.”
Ling, whose medical license was revoked in October 2014 by the California Osteopathic Medical Board, must also pay approximately $1.5 million in restitution and back taxes to the state and federal government.
Beginning in October 2012, Ling was charged with a series of medical and tax related fraud crimes in both state and federal court.
According to his plea agreement in the federal case, Ling conspired to defraud Medicare by using a “street-level marketer” who referred patients to his Spring Valley medical office. Ling would then bill Medicare for these office visits, even though the patients were not sick. He also gave them prescriptions for power wheelchairs and other expensive medical equipment prosecutors say the patients did not need.
Federal prosecutors said the phony prescriptions were filled by a Los Angeles medical supply company, whose owner has pleaded guilty to submitting close to $500,000 in false Medicare claims.
Documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates reveal details about the separate state investigation by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud. The state investigation led to Ling’s arrest and convictions in Superior Court.
The department staged an undercover operation in which an agent witnessed a patient walk into Ling’s office without any assistance. According to the documents, “…Ling could see the undercover patient, was mobile…Ling did not conduct an examination other than to quickly touch her abdomen and quickly put a stethoscope up to her chest.”
According to the documents, the agent said Ling “never asked if she had complaint” or if she had any problems walking. According to the agent, Medicare paid Ling $282 for that brief visit, which he falsely billed as “a home visit with comprehensive medical history… removal of impacted earwax… and a mini-mental examination.”
NBC 7 Investigates has also learned Ling’s medical “office” at the time was a basement bedroom in a house on Crest Drive, in a residential area of Spring Valley.
A court document filed Jan. 15 by state prosecutors confirms Ling pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges related to medical and tax fraud.
The evidence in those Superior Court cases shows Ling billed for medically unnecessary services, including skin cancer treatments and Vitamin B-12 injections.
Investigators said they also determined Ling submitted claims showing he treated Medicare patients for 20 hours or more a day, on 52 different days. On 32 of those days, Ling’s bills show he worked more than 24-hours in a single day, while providing house-calls for patients.
“It is impossible to exceed 24 hours,” the investigator wrote in investigation documents. “And considering Ling had to travel to the patients and the travel time was not covered, it is improbable that Ling could perform 20 hours of services in a day.” Investigators determined Medicare paid Ling $198,865 for his work he claimed to have done during those 52 days.
Investigators also said Ling submitted bills to Medicare while he was an inmate in the county jail, after first being arrested.
Documents reveal he was paid more than $3,500 based on the false claims he filed during the seven days he spent in round-the-clock custody, before he was released on bail. Ling claimed during his time in jail he was “treating patients as a mobile physician at their home”
In the documents, the investigator wrote, “I know that Ling could not have performed those services.”
Ling’s attorney said her client is “very remorseful” and has tried to repay as much of the fraudulent income as he could.
“He has been a good person, he has helped lots of clients,” said attorney Roseline Feral. “He’s not all bad, and this is not the sum total of all his life.” (LINK) — 2/18/2015
DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—Inactive; no disciplinary action listed as of 2/17/2015
Court Papers Filed In Child Porn Possession Case
HOVEN, SOUTH DAKOTA—A Hoven doctor who’s practiced for decades is now accused of having hundreds of pornographic photos of children.
Officials arrested 74-year-old John Coddington Wednesday in Wishik, North Dakota, and KELOLAND News knows more about what investigators found in his home.
Coddington was the medical director of the Hoven Medical Clinic. Thursday, the clinic’s website says the hospital there is no longer offering emergency services.
But it’s Coddington who could face the most trouble, now charged with five counts of having child pornography. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 70 years in prison.
According to the court papers filed Thursday in Potter County, an investigator first spoke with Dr. John Coddington just two weeks ago, on September 23, at the hospital in Hoven.
That’s when Coddington told the special agent he had used a computer program to secure files on his computer. The doctor told the agent he did that to secure financial information, but he wouldn’t give the password to the agent.
That same day, a search warrant was issued for Coddington’s apartment and investigators took four computers from the doctor’s home.
On September 29, the special agent began to search the computer, and by last Friday, the agent had found 200 to 300 photos of children in sexual acts or simulated acts. The special agent says the photos also indicate the children’s ages, some of which are as young as three years old.
The papers also indicate the photos were stored in various files on the computer. At least one was listed under the user “John” and another download folder belonged to an email address used by John Coddington.
An attorney for the hospital in Hoven says the staff and board of the hospital have been advised to answer “no comment” to any questions about the arrest. And that’s the answer he gave when asked if the closing of the hospital and the arrest were connected. (LINK) — 10/07/2010
DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License Voluntarily Surrendered Unprofessional conduct: Violation of any standard of professional behavior established for the practice in which licensed. Ethics or morality substandard. 7/13/2010
Physician accused of possessing child porn
Police say Dr. David York of Topsham had explicit images and videos on his home computers.
TOPSHAM, MAINE—A doctor who lives in Topsham has been charged with possessing sexually explicit materials involving children younger than 12.
Maine State Police arrested David York, 59, at his home at 212 Congress Circle about 5 p.m. Tuesday. York, a general practitioner with Concentra Medical Centers, was taken to the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset and released Tuesday night on $2,500 cash bail.
State police Col. Patrick Fleming said two computers were seized from York’s house Tuesday morning by the state computer crimes unit. A preliminary examination revealed “hundreds of images and videos of child pornography,” Fleming said.
He said there is no indication that any of the images show Maine children, but the computers are still being examined.
York was licensed to practice medicine in Maine in 2008 and lists his address with the state’s Board of Licensure as Charlotte, N.C.
Concentra Medical Centers is a national health care company with five locations in Maine. York treated patients in Augusta and Lewiston.
John Delorimier, spokesman for Concentra, said the company fired York on Wednesday. He said York had been with the company for one year.
“It’s tragic and disturbing,” Delorimier said in a telephone interview. “We found out late yesterday and immediately suspended the doctor from services at Concentra.”
Delorimier said York had very little, if any, contact with children on the job. He said Concentra specializes in occupational medicine, so nine out of every 10 patients would be adults.
“If you got hurt on the job, you would go to one of our centers,” he said. “We see very few pediatrics. The only time we would see pediatrics is for urgent-care services, and we don’t even promote that in Maine.”
Fleming said the case came to the attention of the state computer crimes unit in November as part of a backlog being worked on by two new investigators.
He said most of the images are from file sharing with other personal computer users around the country, known as a peer-to-peer network.
In a peer-to-peer network, “you basically avoid the pay sites for music and porn and transfer files right between personal computers,” Fleming said. “It’s a fairly new technology. It’s something we haven’t really been able to concentrate on until we got these two new investigators.”
An arrest warrant was obtained Tuesday afternoon by Special Agent Michael McFadden, one of the two investigators who joined the computer crimes unit last month.
York faces five counts of possession of sexually explicit materials showing children younger than 12.
“Now that we’ve got these two new special investigators, we’re tracking down these people,” Fleming said. “We actually have people out there to do the legwork, so now it’s more proactive. It’s a pretty significant problem that we’ve known about but didn’t have the resources to follow.” (LINK) — 3/25/2010
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