WATCH: ‘Demonic’: Abortionist holds scissors near pro-lifer’s throat while yelling in his face
SAN DIEGO, CA, June 14, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – A disturbing new video shows an abortionist get in the face of a sidewalk counselor, hold scissors at throat-level, and say he loves tearing babies apart in a guttural voice.
Pro-life advocates have posted a one-minute-long excerpt of an exchange with Dr. Robert Santella outside his Family Planning Associates abortion facility on Miramar Road in San Diego to YouTube.
Dr. Santella exits his office, holding a cup in his left hand and a large pair of scissors in his right.
A sidewalk counselor tells the abortionist that he needs to repent.
Santella jolts over and springs into the protester’s face, breathing while making a menacing, throaty noise.
“Stinky breath!” he says.
“That’s pretty evil of you,” the counselor, who later calls himself Zephaniah, responds.
The abortionist then raises his right hand. A longer video posted from another vantage point shows Santella raising the scissors to approximately the same level as the counselor’s neck.
“That’s what you do to babies,” Zephaniah says cooly.
“Yeah, I love it,” Santella replies.
Zephaniah says he hopes that one day the abortionist will repent of his actions and accept the grace of Jesus Christ.
“Oh, I never go to Christ,” Santella says repeatedly. “I don’t listen to Christ!”
“I do have a darkened heart,” he affirms, “very, very much so.”
When Zephaniah tells the abortionist to “keep tearing the babies apart,” Dr. Santella responds, “I will…I love it. I love it!”
Eventually, a security guard, who identifies Dr. Santella by name, tells the abortionist he has a phone call and should return to the building.
In the longer video, one of Zephaniah’s fellow pro-life activists, who is watching the bizarre exchange with Dr. Santella unfold, describes the abortionist’s actions as “demonic.”
Santella’s history shows a record of neglect that hurt women. In December 1983, the California State Board of Medical Quality Assurance suspended Dr. Santella’s license for 60 days and put him on probation for five years after documenting that he injured three female patients and contributed to one mother having a miscarriage. (LINK)—6/14/2016
San Diego Abortion Doctor Says He Will Surrender Medical License
Robert Santella was accused of unprofessional conduct after a confrontation with an anti-abortion protester
A longtime San Diego physician says he will surrender his medical license and stop seeing patients after the Medical Board of California accused him of gross negligence in patient care, and unprofessional conduct during an altercation outside a local abortion clinic.
The Medical Board detailed those allegations in a 25-page accusation filed July 17 against Dr. Robert Santella. In the accusation, the Medical Board also claims Santella over-prescribed narcotics to six patients and botched an abortion on another patient. The Board cites Santella’s “aggressive” and “outrageous” behavior outside the Family Planning Associates abortion clinic on Miramar Road in June 2016 as a cause for revoking his license.
That confrontation was videotaped by two abortion protesters, including Zephaniah Mel, who went face-to-face with Santella outside the clinic entrance. The video shows Santella approaching Mel with a pair of surgical scissors in his right hand.
As described in the accusation, Mel urged Santella to “stop murdering babies.” In response, Santella “aggressively pressed his face to within inches of (Mel’s) face and angrily replied ‘Why?’” According to the accusation, “When asked if he did that to babies, (Santella) replied in a guttural tone, ‘Yeah, I love it!’”
In an interview with NBC 7 Investigates, Mel said he felt threatened when Santella approached him with the scissors.
“It was very close to the top of my chest, if not my neck,” he said. “It was a very intense confrontation.”
Mel said he backed away from Santella, and ended up very close to the railing on the second-floor walkway where the confrontation took place.
“(Santella) was leaning towards me inch-by-inch,” Mel recalled. “I could have tipped over. I could have fallen from the second floor.”
Santella’s attorney, Bob Frank, said because of the camera’s angle, there is no video footage of the confrontation that supports Mel’s claim that Santella threatened him with the surgical scissors.
“I didn’t even see any scissors up against (Mel), from what I watched on the video, in any type of attack or threatening manner,” Frank told NBC 7 Investigates.
In the accusation, the Medical Board’s executive director said Santella’s “outrageous conduct” and “physically threatening gestures” violated his profession’s ethical code, and demonstrate Santella is unfit to practice medicine.
In a brief phone conversation, Santella told NBC 7 Investigates he lost his composure that day and regrets his behavior. He also said he will surrender his medical license rather than fight the accusation in the state’s administrative law court.
His attorney said Santella’s license surrender should be finalized by late December, at which time Santella will end a 44-year medical career as an OB-GYN physician.
Frank said he has fashioned a strong defense for his client, but “those battles with the (Medical) Board are long and hard, and they’re very expensive.” According to Frank, that reality prompted Santella to instead negotiate a voluntary surrender of his medical license.
According to Frank, the doctor is proud of a career in which he “protected and honored women’s rights” by providing legal abortion services and reduced and no-fee medical care for underserved patients at his College Area office. Frank also said his client was deeply hurt when protesters denounced him as a “murderer” and “baby killer.”
The lawyer also disputes the Medical Board’s allegation that Santella improperly prescribed narcotics and endangered a patient’s life by mis-managing an abortion.
This latest accusation is Santella’s third run-in with the medical board.
LOUISIANA MEDICAL BOARD RECORD—Not listed DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—
LOUISIANA MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— Not listed DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—
Former East Feliciana coroner arrested after Investigative Unit reports
BATON ROUGE – A former East Feliciana Parish Coroner was arrested Tuesday and charged with malfeasance in office, criminal conspiracy and injuring public documents.
Laura DeJohn, along with her former deputy coroner Melanie Vines, were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Tuesday. The arrests follow a 10-month-long investigation by state investigators and the FBI.
DeJohn is accused of failing to maintain Louisiana’s record retention law by failing to keep records during her administration. She is also accused of submitting fraudulent billing invoices for unlicensed medical services.
According to arrest records, DeJohn admitted to falsifying records in order to receive payment from the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office. She also admitted that she did not maintain printed copies of documents.
“Whenever we can hold people accountable for wrongdoing, I think it helps a lot for our political system to help people believe there are people out there taking care of this business,” Chief Deputy Attorney General Bill Stiles said.
Vines admitted to conspiring with DeJohn to falsify records. Vines said she was told to conceal her involvement, according to arrest documents.
WBRZ’s Chief Investigator Chris Nakamoto has reported on DeJohn multiple times. Click here to read one of the reports from April 2016. Arrest documents note that the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation opened the criminal investigation on May 5, 2016, just one week after that Investigative Report aired.
After DeJohn left office, incoming coroner, Dr. Michael Cramer, requested documents for over a 20-year period. In a five-page letter to Cramer, DeJohn’s attorney said the documents did not exist.
Part of the letter reads, “The East Feliciana Parish Coroner’s Office during Ms. DeJohn’s tenure, where there was no secretarial help, was operated on a purely verbal basis…accordingly, no such documents exist.” The letter repeatedly says DeJohn’s office maintained no written records. It goes on to say records are kept at other agencies.
In April, East Baton Rouge Coroner Dr. Beau Clark said he found it hard to believe that DeJohn couldn’t produce any records to the incoming coroner. Clark was able to show files were DeJohn submitted bills on East Feliciana Parish Coroner letterhead.
Clark said DeJohn tried to collect $2,200 from the EBR Coroner for work she claimed she performed on patients with mental illness, where she issued a Coroner’s Emergency Certificate. Clark decided to not pay her because DeJohn was not a doctor.
CECs also known as Coroner’s Emergency Certificates contain a mental health evaluation section that can only be completed by a physician, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner or psychologist. Documents note that DeJohn claimed she had received legal advice that allowed her, in the capacity of a coroner, to legally perform CECs.
Documents say Vines evaluated patients for CECs at the Eastern Louisiana Medical Health System. After completing the CECs, Vines said she intentionally concealed any reference to herself in the documents. Vines said DeJohn was not present during the CECs. Those CECs were then submitted to the EBR Coroner’s Office.
Documents say between Feb. 10 to March 3, 2016, CECs for at least 24 separate patients were fraudulently completed. Many of those CECs were completed at times when DeJohn was traveling on personal out-of-state trips to Las Vegas and San Francisco.
“The real victim is the public,” Stiles said “We’re talking about the public fisk. The public doesn’t have a whole lot of trust in their officials.” (LINK)—3/14/2017
MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— 2017006602 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License on probation; see medical board actions at the bottom of this blog post.
St. Louis County doctor admits selling misbranded foreign HGH
ST. LOUIS • A St. Louis County doctor on Thursday pleaded guilty to a federal felony and admitted selling misbranded human growth hormone to about 40 patients.
Dr. Michael “Ted” Mimlitz, 50, told U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry in court Thursday that he had become involved in the Men’s Medical Institute after identifying a need for a clinic specializing in testosterone replacement therapy for men. But patients began asking for human growth hormone, he said, and he found a Mexican supplier online after being unable to find it in the U.S.
Mimlitz said that he charged patients $1,400 for three months of treatment.
Other American clinics he found charged three to four times more.
The problem for Mimlitz was that the drugs were misbranded, contained labels in Spanish, not English, and were not manufactured by a facility licensed or registered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to court testimony.
Mimlitz’s plea appeared at times to be in danger of not happening, because Perry was not initially convinced that he had the intent to defraud patients. But with additional assurances by Mimlitz that he knew what he was doing was illegal, Perry did later accept the plea.
Prosecutors pointed out in a statement announcing the plea that doctors can prescribe HGH for a handful of reasons, including “wasting diseases associated with AIDS or Prader-Willi syndrome,” but not “to help patients with body-building, anti-aging, or weight loss treatments.”
For the crime, distributing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, Mimlitz could face a sentence ranging from six months to nearly two years in prison. He has also agreed to forfeit a $69,500 fine, representing some of the proceeds from the HGH sales.
Mimlitz is a longtime OB/GYN who said in court that he’d delivered thousands of babies before becoming involved with the men’s clinic. (LINK)—1/14/2016
St. Louis County doctor gets probation, fine for selling misbranded HGH
ST. LOUIS • A St. Louis County doctor was sentenced to two years of probation Friday and fined $30,000 for selling misbranded human growth hormone to local clinic patients, prosecutors said.
Dr. Michael “Ted” Mimlitz, 50, also has to forfeit $59,500, representing some of the proceeds from the sale of the drug.
In January, Mimlitz pleaded guilty to one count of distributing misbranded drugs and admitted finding a Mexican supplier for the drug online and re-selling it between March 2014 and June 2015. But the drugs were misbranded, contained labels in Spanish, not English, and were not manufactured by a facility licensed or registered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, prosecutors said.
Mimlitz was a longtime OB/GYN before becoming involved with a west St. Louis County clinic that specialized in treating men who complained of a lack of energy or decreased strength and endurance. But under federal law, “HGH cannot be prescribed to help patients with body-building, anti-aging, or weight loss treatments,” prosecutors said.
“Doctors hold a special level of trust for U.S. consumers; when they violate that trust and provide illegal drugs to their patients, they put their patients at risk,” said Catherine A. Hermsen, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City office of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations in a prepared statement. “Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice doctors who are involved in the distribution of illegal drugs.” (LINK)—4/22/2016
Doctor in St. Louis County who prescribed illegal HGH can practice medicine again
ST. LOUIS • A St. Louis County doctor who pleaded guilty last year to a federal felony, and admitted he illegally sold misbranded human growth hormone to patients, is licensed to practice medicine again.
Dr. Michael “Ted” Mimlitz, 51, was sentenced in April 2016 to two years of probation and fined $30,000 for selling misbranded human growth hormone to local clinic patients, prosecutors said. He also had to forfeit $59,500, representing some of the proceeds from the sale of the drug.
Mimlitz went just 3 ½ months without a medical license. The Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts revoked his medical license in November. But he had already applied for a new license in October. The board granted a new license on March 2.
The license is on probation for two years. Within the first six months, he must successfully complete board-approved courses in ethics and prescribing. He could not be reached for comment.
Mimlitz admitted in U.S. District Court that he become involved in the Men’s Medical Institute after identifying a need for a clinic specializing in testosterone replacement therapy for men.
Patients began asking for human growth hormone, he said, and he found a Mexican supplier online after being unable to find it in the U.S. He sold the misbranded drugs to about 40 patients.
The drugs were misbranded, contained labels in Spanish, not English, and were not manufactured by a facility licensed or registered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to court testimony.
Prosecutors pointed out in a statement announcing the plea that doctors can prescribe HGH for a handful of reasons, including “wasting diseases associated with AIDS or Prader-Willi syndrome,” but not “to help patients with body-building, anti-aging, or weight loss treatments.” (LINK)—3/13/2017
Medical Board Actions
Action Taken: Probation Start Date: 3/2/2017 End Date: Terms: License issued on probation for two (2) years. Licensee entered a guilty plea in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri on or about January 14, 2016, to the felony offense Receiving Misbranded Prescription Drugs in Interstate Commerce with Intent to Defraud or mislead. The offense was reasonably related to the qualification, functions, or duties of Applicants profession
Action Taken: Probation Start Date: 3/2/2017 End Date: 3/2/2019 Terms: License was placed on probation for two (2) years. Licensee entered a guilty plea in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri on or about January 14, 2016, to the felony offense Receiving Misbranded Prescription Drugs in Interstate Commerce with Intent to Defraud or mislead. The offense was reasonably related to the qualification, functions, or duties of Applicants profession
Action Taken: Revoked Start Date: 11/15/2016 End Date: Terms: On January 14, 2016, Licensee entered a guilty plea in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to the felony offense Receiving Misbranded Prescription Drugs in Interstate Commerce with Intent to Defraud or Mislead. The above-referenced case arose out of a series of incidents wherein Licensee arranged to have Human Growth Hormone (“HGH”) imported from a foreign distributer; though, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) had not authorized the drugs for commercial distribution and they were misbranded within the meaning of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The offense Receiving Misbranded Prescription Drugs in Interstate Commerce with Intent to Defraud or Mislead is a crime reasonably related to the qualifications, functions or duties of Licensee’s profession.
MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— MD20201 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License revoked; see medical board actions at the bottom of this blog post.
Fake plastic surgeon is jailed
DUBAI // A disgraced doctor who passed himself off as a prominent US plastic surgeon and performed botched operations on his kitchen table was sentenced to two months in jail yesterday. The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours found that Steven Moos had forged American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital business cards, and used them to impersonate the Hollywood surgeon Dr Steven Hopping.
Moos was struck off as a doctor in the US in 2004 and was not licensed by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). He had been facing a maximum three-year sentence for the forgery charges and a further maximum of three years for illegal practice. The court, however, sentenced him to a month for each. Moos was arrested in February after passing himself off as Dr Hopping to a number of patients in Dubai. Police said he had been running a clinic out of his villa in Al Barsha and was performing surgeries on his kitchen table.]
One of Moos’s victims shows the damage to her lips following a botched operation. (Stephen Lock)
The DHA said Moos was trading on Dr Hopping’s name and reputation as a top US surgeon. The real Dr Hopping visits Dubai three or four times each year to perform surgery at the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City. It is unclear when Moos arrived in the country but police said he had previously been arrested in Sharjah. He was released on bail while his criminal file information was verified. He continued, however, to work out of his villa until his re-arrest in February.
Moos was detained after an undercover investigation by the DHA and Dubai Police after a tip off. Authorities in the US had been seeking his arrest since he was struck off six years ago. The FBI and Interpol want him on charges including drug possession and trafficking, crimes against life and health, and giving false statements to the US government. The charges related to a 2003 lawsuit brought by the Oregon attorney general, Hardy Myers, that claimed Moos violated consumer protection laws and illegally imported human growth hormone from China.
He was also accused of claiming that a gel he sold on the internet contained the same active ingredient as the anti-impotence drug Viagra. The FBI website featuring Moos’s charges and personal details has been updated to read “captured”. However, his extradition date is uncertain as he is facing at least two civil suits from patients who suffered botched surgeries, according to public prosecution sources.
One former patient yesterday said she was “disgusted” with the two-month jail sentence. The woman, in her 30s, was left with scarring after Moos performed what should have been a simple procedure on her lips. She said he used equipment that was not sterile and has left her lips numb. “He should pay for what he did, he destroyed the lives of many women,” she said. “He pretended to be someone he was not, and tricked people into thinking he was licensed. How can he only be given two months? He deserves to spend years in jail.”
The woman, who declined to identify herself, said she had submitted medical reports to Dubai Police to file a civil case. She said she was seeking up to Dh3 million (US$817,000) in compensation. “It will never be the same,” she said. “I will not get all the feeling back in my lips. I think he should be held responsible for this.” [email protected][email protected] (LINK)—4/29/2010
Fugitive Steven G. Moos, accused of medical fraud in the U.S., tabletop surgery in Dubai, arrested at D.C. airport
FBI agents arrested a former Tigard doctor today at Dulles International Airport after he flew home from the United Arab Emirates, where authorities accused him of performing plastic surgery on his kitchen table.
Steven G. Moos, 41, was booked into the Multnomah County Jail and scheduled for an initial appearance Thursday before a federal magistrate in Portland.
“We stand ready to do our part to bring Mr. Moos to justice,” said Dwight C. Holton, the U.S. attorney for Oregon.
Moos’ troubles began 10 years ago, when the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners found he was prescribing medicines – including Viagra and Rogaine – to Internet customers he’d never examined.
Two years later, customs agents in San Francisco seized five packages of improperly labeled medicine addressed to Moos at Frontier Medical Center. Washington County authorities searched Moos’ $1.1 million home on Bull Mountain, seizing cocaine and other illegal drugs.
Moos was accused him of possessing a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child.
On Jan. 17, 2003, Oregon’s medical board issued an emergency suspension of Moos’ medical license. The following year, government prosecutors accused him of attempting to import mislabeled human growth hormone from China.
A federal grand jury indicted Moos in June 2004 for misbranding medication, making false statements to the Drug Enforcement Administration and obtaining controlled substances by misrepresentation.
That same month, Oregon’s attorney general won a default judgment against Moos that required him to pay a $400,000 civil penalty and reimburse consumers who bought a product he marketed online called “Viaglide,” which was billed as a “female arousal cream.”
By July 2004, according to the FBI, Moos was a fugitive. He and his wife and four children had vanished from their home.
Moos beached up last February in the United Arab Emirates, where he was accused of posing as renowned cosmetic surgeon Dr. Steven B. Hopping of Washington, D.C. Authorities there charged him with impersonating a physician, endangering the lives of his patients and carrying out unlicensed activities.
Hopping told The Oregonian last April that he was furious to learn that Moos had performed Botox injections and liposuction using his good name, leaving some of his patients with “deformities.” (LINK)—10/06/2010
Dr. Steven Moos faces 5 years in slammer
A former Tigard doctor, who fled the United States six years ago after being charged with using the Internet to illegally provide prescription medications, has pled guilty to lying to the government and could face five years in prison.
Steven G. Moos admitted on Tuesday that he had made false statements to the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2003 when he signed a document declaring that his medical license had not been previously restricted by a medical board.
Moos was placed on a 10-year probation in 2000 by the Oregon Medical Board after he prescribed Viagra, Rogaine and other medications to customers over the Internet without first providing an examination.
A few months after his medical license was suspended in January 2003, the Oregon Department of Justice barred Moos from dispensing drugs or nutritional supplements.
At the time, officials accused Moos of making false claims about a cream called Viaglide, which he marketed online.
In 2004, federal prosecutors accused Moos of attempting to import a mislabeled human growth hormone from China. At the time, he was charged with making a false statement to the DEA.
Moos disappeared from his million-dollar home on Bull Mountain in July 2004 after Washington County authorities seized cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs from the house.
He remained missing for six years until he was located this past February in Dubai. Local authorities arrested him after performing plastic surgery on his kitchen table while using the name of Steven Hopping. The real Steven Hopping is a prominent surgeon from Washington D.C.
Dubai authorities charged Moos with impersonating a physician, endangering the lives of his patients and carrying out unlicensed activities.
In October, Moos originally pled not guilty to misbranding medication, making false statements to the government and obtaining controlled substances by misrepresentation.
Moos’ federal charges carry a potential five-year prison term. But government prosecutors and Moos’ lawyer have agreed on a sentence that will result in either probation or up to six months of incarceration.
Sentencing for Moos is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Moos has yet to appear in Washington County on other charges of possessing a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child.
Moos’ bail on the Washington County drug charges remains at $500,000.
Washington County Deputy District Attorney Jason Weiner has said he was not sure when Moos will appear on those charges, but it could be as early as this week. (LINK)—12/23/2010
Ex-fugitive doctor faces Washington County rape charge
HILLSBORO, Ore. (KOIN) – A former doctor who fled the U.S. amid allegations he committed medical fraud is now accused of raping and sodomizing a minor in Washington County, and he could face criminal charges in federal court.
Steven Gabriel Moos remains lodged in the Washington County Jail. His trial started on Tuesday, March 14.
Moos is charged with 3 counts of first-degree rape, 6 counts of first-degree sodomy, and one count of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration.
The alleged abuse, for which he has been indicted for, occurred in 2012. The alleged victim is known to him.
Court records show Moos abused the victim between 2004 and 2015, while she was between the ages of 5 and 17.
The alleged abuse began in China and continued in the United Arab Emirates.
Moos abruptly moved from Oregon to China to avoid prosecution in Oregon in 2004 after he became the subject of a criminal investigation.
Moos’ flight from justice continued in 2008 when he left China and settled in the UAE to avoid Chinese authorities.
He allegedly resumed abusing the child in 2010 in the UAE.
“The abuse stopped for a period of time while the defendant was in custody,” court documents said.
But it continued at a Beaverton apartment complex in 2012 once Moos was brought back to the U.S. The alleged victim reported the abuse to Beaverton police in 2016.
It’s not clear how long Moos’ current trial in Washington County will last.
Federal arrest warrant filed On Wednesday, March 15, Beaverton Police Detective Chad Opitz, who is assigned to an FBI task force aimed at curbing human sex trafficking and child pornography, filed a 7-page arrest warrant in U.S. District Court in Oregon.
The criminal complaint alleges Moos engaged in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places and attempted to engage in sexual conduct in foreign places.
Detectives have uncovered “corroborating evidence” that supports the victim’s claims against Moos, according to the complaint. Some of that evidence includes an email he reportedly sent to the victim.
Medical board launches investigation Moos became a licensed physician in Oregon on October 18, 1996, and began practicing general medicine. He focused on lifestyle medicine. He saw patients for anti-aging treatments, maintenance of sexual function and Botox injections for wrinkle removal.
Moos had clinics in Tigard and Grants Pass.
The Oregon Medical Board began investigating Moos in 1999 when the agency discovered he was prescribing and dispensing medicine, including Viagra, Propecia, Xenical, Celebrex, Rogaine, Paroxetine and Zyban over the Internet without ever seeing or examining his patients.
The board decided to temporarily revoke Moos’ license following the investigation in March 2000.
A call to police Police in Portland first learned of Moos’ name in April 2000 after the Drugs and Vice Division got a call from someone reporting he was selling “club drugs” such as “ketamine and ecstasy.”
The investigation into Moos centered around whether he supplied and used controlled substances. The probe lasted several years.
On January 8, 2003, the case officer applied for a search warrant so authorities could search Moos’ person, his residence, office and vehicles.
Several facts were revealed in the affidavit that was prepared by the Portland Police Bureau:
Dec. 7, 2001 – Rape allegation made against Moos. Tigard Police investigate. They determine Moos later admitted that he kept a large supply of liquid Viagra at his home and that he routinely provided it to friends without a prescription and without a physical examination. No criminal charges resulted from the rape investigation.
June 2002 – Tigard Police received a tip from someone claiming an employee of Moos was selling drugs illegally. The investigation revealed that Moos likely knew about the transactions.
June 2002 – Moos’ neighbors reported to Tigard police that they suspect illicit drug transactions were occurring at his home because they saw people coming to Moos’ home “at all hours” and that he would “come outside to the vehicles and appear to engage in exchanges or transactions.”
September 2002 – U.S. Customs agents seized a shipment of 300 pills from China to Moos at his medical clinic.
September 19, 2002 – Tigard Police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle seen leaving Moos’ residence. Inside the vehicle is the person police were tipped off to in June for possibly selling drugs over the counter at Moos’ office. Police found a bag of cocaine and 12 blue pills inside the car.
November 2002 – A person close to the family reported she suspected drug use occurring inside the Moos household.
December 7, 2002 – PPB drug officers conducted surveillance on Moos at a now-closed nightclub. During the surveillance police witnessed what they suspect was two drug transactions between Moos and two separate people.
A team of 28 officers executed the warrant on Jan. 17, 2003. During the search, police found evidence of amphetamine, ketamine hydrochloride, ketamine residue, oxycodone, meth, ecstasy, phendimetrazine, and carisoprodol.
At Moos’ clinic in Tigard, police found evidence of cocaine and marijuana inside a safe in Moos’ private office.
On January 27, 2003, Moos provided a urine and hair sample. The urine test showed signs of opiate use. The hair sample showed the presence of opiates, marijuana and cocaine.
Washington County indictment A grand jury seated in Washington County issued a secret indictment on April 2, 2003 that charged Moos with 3 counts each of second-degree possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Federal indictment In June 2004, a federal grand jury indicted Moos on 4 counts related to medical fraud. He pleaded guilty in December 2010 to making false statements in U.S. District Court.
Federal prosecutors allege Moos “purposefully misrepresented to the DEA his discipline history as a physician in order to obtain prescription drugs [and] misrepresented his DEA status to drug manufacturers and wholesalers in order to obtain those prescription drugs.”
International fugitive By summer 2004, Moos was facing 2 indictments and more investigations were mounting. He fled his million-dollar Bull Mountain home.
He remained a fugitive for 6 years.
Officials believe Moos moved to China in July 2004 and continued to practice medicine. According to the complaint filed by Opitz, Moos took steps to conceal his travels in China.
Records show Moos traveled to Hong Kong and then entered mainland China via the Lo Wu border crossing. In 2005, U.S. officials in China delivered a letter to Moos, via courier, to his Beijing office informing him that his 2 passports had been revoked.
In March 2015, U.S. Embassy staff in Beijing reported seeing Moos living in what was believed to be an “expat community.”
When Chinese authorities launched their own investigation in 2008, Moos fled, according to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office. Some of his family members traveled to Cambodia while Moos went to Dubai in the UAE and started practicing medicine once again.
It is believed Moos traveled to the UAE in January 2008. When he arrived, he was initially detained by UAE officials, but was released and quickly settled into the UAE.
While in the UAE, Moos set up a clinic in his apartment and pretended to be Dr. Steven Hopping, a surgeon to the Hollywood celebrities. Many of Moos’ surgeries were performed in his kitchen. The Times newspaper, based in London, reported some of Moos’ clients sustained lip disfiguration.
Eventually, the Dubai Health Authority caught wind of what Moos was doing and confirmed he was not licensed to be operating.
He was arrested in Al Barsha, UAE in February 2010, the UAE-based English newspaper the National reported. His arrest followed an undercover operation. He was given a 2 month jail sentence.
On October 6, 2010, the FBI in Portland confirmed agents arrested Moos as he arrived at Dulles International Airport on a flight from Dubai.
State: Moos is a public danger The OMB determined, through its investigation, it was likely Moos was using “impairing-type street drugs” and his behavior presented “a danger to his patients and others.”
The agency revoked Moos’ license in July 2004. It remains in that status.
The decision to revoke his license came after OMB discovered Moos “willfully and repeatedly violated two [OMB] orders that were intended to curb his improper and illegal activities and to protect the public,” according to state records.
KOIN 6 News is tracking both the current Washington County trial and any potential federal charges.
Attempts to reach Moos’ criminal defense attorney and his representatives have not been successful. (LINK)—3/15/2017
Ex-fugitive doctor now a convicted rapist
Steven Gabriel Moos will be sentenced next week
HILLSBORO, Ore. (KOIN) – Years after an ex-doctor fled the US to avoid prosecution, a Washington County jury quickly convicted him on 10 sex-related crimes.
Steven Gabriel Moos was brought back to the United States to face justice. His trial began Tuesday and the jury found him guilty of 3 counts of 1st-degree rape, 6 counts of 1st-degree sodomy and one count of 1st-degree unlawful sexual penetration.
Moos fled the US in 2004 amid allegations he committed medical fraud. The sexual abuse began in 2004 in China and the United Arab Emirates and continued in a Beaverton apartment complex in 2012.
The victim reported it to Beaverton police in 2016.
Moos is scheduled to be sentenced next week. (LINK)—3/17/2017
Former Fugitive Doctor Gets More Than 44 Years for Rape
A former Oregon doctor who previously fled the country to avoid federal drug charges has been sentenced to more than 44 years in prison for rape.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former Oregon doctor who previously fled the country to avoid federal drug charges has been sentenced to more than 44 years in prison for rape.
Steven Moos, 47, was sentenced Tuesday to 44 years and two months in prison after he was convicted of rape, sodomy, unlawful sexual penetration and tampering with a witness.
Senior Judge Rita Batz Cobb said the sentence would protect the victim as well as the community. The prison term was well above the 25-year sentence Moos’ attorney Ted Occhialino asked for and above the minimum 35 years requested by Kevin Barton, county senior deputy district attorney.
Prosecutors say Moos sexually abused a teenage girl between 2012 and 2015 while he was living in Beaverton. He was arrested last year after the teen reported the abuse.
The former physician, who used to run a clinic in Tigard before the state revoked his license in 2004, did not apologize to his victim on Tuesday. She was not in the courtroom. He said he agrees with the jury’s verdict.
“I would have voted me guilty as well,” Moos said.
Previously, Moos was indicted on federal drug charges. He fled the country but was discovered by authorities in the United Arab Emirates in 2010. He was extradited to Oregon and sentenced in 2011 to probation for drug charges.
He was accused of separate federal crimes related to child sex abuse during a period in China and Dubai from 2004 to 2010. Charges of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places and attempting to engage in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places were filed last week in U.S. District Court in Portland.(LINK)—3/22/2017
On July 9, 2004, the Board issued a Final Order by Default which revoked Licensee’s Oregon medical license; imposed a $5,000 fine; reprimand; and assessed costs related to his April 21, 2004 Contested Case Hearing.
On January 17, 2003, the Board of Medical Examiners issued an order to suspend licensee’s license to practice medicine. An Amended Order was issued on February 6, 2003.
MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— AP2793 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—Licence clear as of 3/19/2017; no actions listed
Acupuncturist arrested on sexual battery charges, deputies say
Deputies: Man worked at Compassion Acupuncture and Herbal Clinic
ORLANDO, Fla. - Orange County deputies arrested an acupuncturist on sexual battery charges Friday, deputies said.
The acupuncturist, Min-Chung Tsai, 58, worked at Compassion Acupuncture and Herbal Clinic on South Ferncreek Avenue in Orlando, Orange County deputies said.
Deputies said a woman went to the clinic to receive acupuncture treatment in December, and believe she was sexually battered by Tsai during the treatment.
The victim returned to the clinic for treatment on Monday, during which time deputies believe she was sexually battered by Tsai again, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Tsai was arrested and charged with two counts of sexual battery, and is scheduled to appear before a judge Saturday morning.
News 6 spoke to Tsai’s wife by phone Saturday morning. She said her husband did not inappropriately touch the victim and claims the victim went to the clinic seeking medical help. Tsai’s wife said there was no one else in the room during the session, which isn’t standard procedure, and that Tsai asked for the victim’s permission before touching her.
According to Tsai’s website, he has more than 20 years of experience as a physician. Tsai got his acupuncturist license in 2010 and has no disciplinary cases or complaints on file, according to the state Department of Health.
Detectives said they believe there may be other victims and are asking them to come forward. Anyone who is aware of someone who may have been a victim is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. (LINK)—3/18/2017
MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— 036104035 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License suspended
McHenry doctor has license suspended after federal investigation alleges he overprescribed pain medication
McHENRY – State regulators temporarily suspended a McHenry doctor’s license after a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation found the general practitioner had prescribed large quantities of opioid pain medication to patients with little oversight.
A complaint filed Monday by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation against Raman I. Popli – a general practitioner who has worked in the McHenry area for more than 14 years – claims that he was “inappropriately prescribing controlled substances to the patients of his private practice,” according to court records obtained by the Northwest Herald.
A nearly yearlong investigation by the DEA’s Chicago Field Office found that Popli prescribed more than 350,000 dosage units of controlled substances between June 2014 and May 2016. This included 167,000 dosage units of hydrocodone, 86,000 dosage units of Xanax, 50,000 dosage units of oxycodone and more than 28,000 dosage units of Klonopin, according to court documents.
Popli’s license was temporarily suspended Monday pending a hearing before a disciplinary board at 10 a.m. Friday in Chicago. Popli had not hired an attorney as of Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said.
Two undercover officers posing as patients in need of pain medication visited Popli’s office, 5415 Bull Valley Road, McHenry, as part of a sting last summer. Popli gave both officers prescriptions for hydrocodone during their first visits, even though both presented several “red flags.”
On July 25 and Aug. 10, two undercover officers went to Popli’s office and posed as patients complaining of discomfort or soreness. Without any thorough examination or X-ray, Popli prescribed both officers Norco after they requested it.
Weeks later, on Aug. 15, both officers contacted Popli’s office separately, and they each were told they had been taken out of the system and the doctor would not treat them any further. Both officers also were sent a letter from Popli’s office that read, “Your name has been flagged by the DEA (along with a few others), and I have been informed by the DEA that you need to be referred to a pain specialist and that I should not be prescribing chronic pain medications to you.”
Popli was reportedly interviewed Feb. 14 by two DEA officers who told him he was being investigated after a concerned pharmacist from McHenry contacted the agency to report that he was overprescribing and allowing patients to get early refills more than once a month. The officers told Popli that he allegedly authorized about 1,800 hydrocodone prescriptions and about 1,500 Xanax prescriptions.
A Wal-Mart pharmacist in Johnsburg who was interviewed by police said that Wal-Mart has a corporate list of doctors who prescribe a high number of opioid medications, and Popli was on the list.
“She told the doctor that as a general practitioner, he should start referring his patients to a pain clinic to keep him from getting in trouble with the DEA,” court records said.
When Popli was asked whether he had been contacted by a pharmacist about overprescribing, he said he did not remember any of those conversations.
Popli also was asked about giving a patient early refills, and he said “he did not give early prescriptions and that he checked the Prescription Monitoring Program so this did not happen,” according to court documents.
The DEA officers told Popli that state records show he gave the same patient 120 Norco tablets 10 times between January and July 2016.
In response to this, Popli said the patient had issues with her back and needed the medication.
He gave another patient 4,161 tablets of morphine sulfate, 3,120 tablets of Soma, 3,000 tablets of oxycodone, 2,555 tablets of Xanax and 180 tablets of Valium over a two-year period. Asked about the prescriptions, Popli told investigators that the patient “had a back problem.”
Investigations also asked the doctor whether he was using the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program to track prescriptions.
“After Popli logged on to the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program (to show officers), Popli began to perspire on his face, which led to actual sweat dripping from his forehead,” court records said.
Investigators also told Popli he had 250 patients from Wisconsin who were being prescribed pain medication. The doctor said he didn’t think the number of patients was alarming since “Wisconsin was close by.”
He also was informed that 29 patients received the “Trinity combo” of medications, a drug regimen that includes at least one opioid, a benzodiazepine and carisoprodol, a muscle relaxer. This combination of medications gives users the effect and “euphoria of heroin use,” according to court documents.
When confronted about prescribing patients with hydrocodone on the first visit, Popli said he would never prescribe the drug on a first visit with a new patient. Officers then told him he had done so with the two undercover officers who posed as new patients, “without X-rays or much of an examination.”
An officer also showed Popli the prescription the second officer was given during his first visit, and he confirmed it was his signature on the document, according to court documents.
Popli then was asked about the letter he had sent to the two officers, and he said “he made up the letter so he would not have to see the patients because he did not like confrontations,” court records said. He also said he did not want to tell patients “no” on the first visit, so he would give patients prescriptions and then send the letter to end the relationship.
“Popli indicated that he did not see anything wrong with him prescribing narcotics to the patients once and then sending them the discharge letters because Popli did not like confrontations,” court records said.
Popli admitted to sending 30 letters to new patients in the past year.
Brian Zachariah, chief medical coordinator of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and a licensed physician for about 29 years, said that after reviewing documents related to the case, “the continued practice of medicine by Raman Popli, M.D., presents an immediate danger to the safety of the public in the state of Illinois.”
Popli was unavailable for comment Tuesday, as he was away from the office because of a “family emergency” and could not be reached, his receptionist said.
The receptionist also was unsure when he would return.
By the numbers
Number of prescriptions written between June 2014 and May 2016: 350,000 dosage units of controlled substances
Number of pills prescribed to a single patient in a two-year period: 4,161 tablets of morphine sulfate, 3,120 tablets of Soma, 3,000 tablets of oxycodone, 2,555 tablets of Xanax and 180 tablets of Valium
Number of out-of-state patients: 250 (LINK to article)—3/15/2017
Pain Management Physician Charged With Overbilling Medicare
BOSTON – A physician specializing in pain management was charged today for overbilling the Medicare program.
Fathalla Mashali, 59, of Dover, was indicted on nine counts of heath care fraud.
Mashali was a licensed physician in Massachusetts and Rhode Island who operated New England Wellness & Pain Management, P.C., which was also known as New England Pain Associates, P.C., Greystone Pain Management, Inc., and New England Pain Institute, P.C., or NEPA. NEPA, a pain management clinic with locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, served many patients who were Medicare beneficiaries.
The indictment alleges that Mashali trained NEPA employees, including physician assistants and registered nurses, to overbill the Medicare program. Mashali overbooked patient appointments, sometimes with as many as four patients per slot, and arrived to work up to four hours late, causing significant overcrowding at NEPA’s waiting rooms.
The patient appointments often lasted less than 10 minutes and sometimes as few as two to three minutes. Mashali often saw patients without performing physical examinations. The indictment also alleges that with the exception of patients requiring injections, Mashali conducted patient visits in a small office with a desk, resembling a business office, rather than in an examination room containing medical equipment. Nevertheless, Mashali submitted fraudulent claims to the Medicare program seeking reimbursement for patient services far exceeding in scope and duration the actual services he provided to patients.
If convicted, Mashali faces a maximum sentence under the statute on each count of health care fraud of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine in the amount of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain to Mashali or loss to the Medicare program, and restitution. (LINK)—3/13/2014
Doctor accused of overprescribing opioids pleads guilty
BOSTON — At Dr. Fathalla Mashali’s pain management clinics, the waiting rooms were often so packed with patients that people sat on the floor, leaned against walls and spilled into the hallways.
That’s because, federal prosecutors say, Mashali was prescribing oxycodone and other powerful opioid painkillers at alarming rates to people making risky use of drugs. At one point, they say, Mashali wrote out more oxycodone prescriptions in one month — over 1,100 — than some of the largest hospitals in Massachusetts.
Mashali pleaded guilty Wednesday to 44 counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering, offering a brief apology during his change-of-plea hearing in U.S. District Court.
“I’m very sorry. I hurt my family. I hurt my patients,” Mashali said.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 21. Prosecutors said in a court filing that federal sentencing guidelines call for 12½ to 15½ years in prison.
Prosecutors nationwide have cracked down on so-called pill mills like the pain management clinics run by Mashali, places where prescriptions are often handed out without physical exams or tests to determine whether a legitimate condition requires pain medication.
Prosecutors in Boston said Mashali would often see more than 100 patients in one day. A medical assistant who worked at one of Mashali’s offices told investigators that only about 5 percent of his patients had legitimate medical conditions.
Mashali, 62, was born in Egypt and received a medical degree from Cairo University. He moved to the United States more than 30 years ago, became a permanent resident, got married, had four children and served in the U.S. Army Reserve.
In the early 2000s, Mashali began operating a pain management clinic, eventually opening three offices in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island. As his practice grew, so did his personal spending. In 2008, Mashali filed for bankruptcy, listing $12 million in debts.
Prosecutors say he used the proceeds from his thriving practice to pay for a lavish lifestyle. In 2011, after emerging from bankruptcy, he and his wife bought a $2.2 million home in Dover, one of the wealthiest towns in Massachusetts, and made approximately $2 million in improvements.
“The evidence will show that Mashali’s lust for exuberant wealth and luxury severely compromised the care and safety of his vulnerable patients,” prosecutors wrote in a trial brief last month.
Mashali’s practice began to fall apart in 2012, when his former employees alleged he was prescribing high doses of drugs to patients with addictions and fraudulently billing for tests he never did.
In 2013, the Rhode Island Board of Medicine revoked his medical license, finding that he had provided “substandard care” to six of seven patients who died. After that, Mashali voluntarily surrendered his Massachusetts license.
He was arrested Feb. 7, 2014, while attempting to board a plane to Egypt on a one-way ticket.
In court filings, Mashali’s lawyers have said he has severe bipolar disorder and neurosarcoidosis, a central nervous system disease that can be characterized by confusion or dementia. During Wednesday’s hearing, Mashali said he is taking more than 20 medications for those illnesses, plus anxiety and depression.
“As the sentencing hearing will show, he is a deeply troubled individual whose underlying psychopathology in large part contributed to the offense conduct,” Mashali’s attorney, Jeffrey Denner, said after the hearing. (LINK)—3/15/2017
MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— 2012-00595 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License active as of 3/19/2017; no actions listed
Greenville doctor suspended after drug trafficking arrest
GREENVILLE — A doctor who was charged Thursday with three counts of trafficking prescription pills has been removed from his workplace at the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center pending a full investigation.
Clinton Henry Leinweber Jr., 59, of 3600 Fair Oaks Court, was charged with three counts of trafficking opium or heroin on Wednesday by the State Bureau of Investigation.
His bond was set at $4.5 million, and on Thursday, he remained in custody at the Pitt County Detention Center.
Leinweber’s son, Gregory James Leinweber, 27, of the same address, was charged with two counts of second-degree sex exploitation of a minor. His bond was set at $150,000.
ECU released a statement about Clinton Leinweber Friday afternoon.
“East Carolina University was notified March 16 by the State Bureau of Investigation that Clinton Leinweber Jr., DO was charged with three felony counts described in Pitt County records as trafficking opium or heroin. In connection with the matter, ECU received questions regarding Leinweber’s prescription practices,” the statement said.
Leinweber has been an employee of ECU since July 1, 2012, and is a radiation oncologist who practices in the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center, a joint venture between Vidant Medical Center and the Brody School of Medicine.
ECU is cooperating fully with the SBI and will take additional action if warranted, the statement said.
“ECU and the Brody School of Medicine are taking this matter very seriously. We are deeply troubled by the allegations which, if proven true, are inconsistent with the values of the university,” the statement said. “We are committed to providing our patients an exemplary level of care. We expect all employees to conduct themselves with the highest level of integrity at all times.
“We assure our patients and employees that we are cooperating fully with the SBI,” said Dr. Phyllis Horns, vice chancellor for health sciences at ECU.
Clinton Leinweber’s areas of interest, according to his Vidant profile, are gastrointestinal cancer, cancer of the central nervous system, cutaneous malignancies and pediatric cancers. (LINK)—3/17/2017
Greenville doctor facing trafficking charges also investigated for secret taping, drugging woman
GREENVILLE, NC (WITN) - A Greenville physician behind bars on drug trafficking charges is now being investigated he used hydrocodone to drug a woman and take questionable videos of her, according to the SBI.
Court documents also discuss several cameras found in the doctor’s office and home.
As WITN first told you Friday, Dr. Clinton Leinweber was charged on Thursday with three counts of trafficking opium or heroin after a raid on his office at the Leo Jenkins Cancer Center as well as his home in the Ironwood neighborhood.
WITN today examined court documents related to the search of Leinweber’s office. We learned more about a victim’s report of being secretly videotaped and drugged.
The SBI reports a confidential informant gave agents a mini SD card with the video that “appeared to show Dr. Leinweber dressing (a woman) in pantyhose and high heeled shoes,” according to an affidavit.
The SBI says the woman in the video, who we are not identifying, was unconscious when videotaped without her knowledge.
The woman told the SBI she knew the doctor had secretly videotaped her in the past, and “she had repeatedly asked him to stop the secret filming,” the court documents said.
The woman also told the SBI that she had some suspicion she was being drugged because of reports from friends about drunken behavior at social events that she had no memory of.
The affidavit also says the woman had previously found numerous secret recording devices in a home as well as on nightstands of hotels where the two had stayed. The SBI says “These recording devices were disguised as normal items a person might have such as vehicle key fobs and a ball point pen”.
The court document also say the SBI discovered that the woman was prescribed numerous controlled substances. The affidavit states those prescriptions were all filled at the Leo Jenkins Cancer Center Pharmacy, and that the woman told agents she had never seen doctors there before, and had no knowledge of the prescriptions.
According to the court documents, five key fob cameras, an ink pen recorder, a button camera, a digital camera, two computers, numerous thumbdrives, a laptop, and a drone quad copter were found in the doctor’s offices at the cancer center.
WITN asked the State Bureau of Investigation if additional charges were possible. The SBI told WITN “the investigation is continuing and the results of the investigation will be presented to the District Attorney’s office once completed. We’re not at liberty to say anything more.”
Leinweber remains in jail on a $4.5 million bond, while ECU says he is suspended with pay from his $466,900 a year job.
Leinweber’s son was also arrested after agents say they found child pornography during a search of the doctor’s home. A warrant says videos were found that belonged to Gregory Leinweber, and that the videos were of girls between six and ten years old. The son also is in jail on $150,000 bond. (LINK)—3/17/2017
DELAWARE MEDICAL BOARD RECORD (Steven)— C2-0005306 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License active as of 3/18/2017; Fine; Remedial Education; Letter of Reprimand
DELAWARE MEDICAL BOARD RECORD (Bruce)— C2-0004994 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS— License active as of 3/18/2017; Fine 2013; Remedial Education; Letter of Reprimand; Fine
DELAWARE MEDICAL BOARD RECORD (Jason)— C1-0008831 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License active as of 3/18/2017; Fine: Remedial Education; Letter of Reprimand
Delaware pulls prescribing privileges from 3 pain docs
Three doctors at a Stanton pain clinic have been barred from prescribing opioids and other medications for at least six months after improperly administering pain medication to a patient who later died of a heroin overdose.
Dr. Steven Grossinger, his brother Dr. Bruce Grossinger and their business partner Dr. Jason Brajer are each facing a $3,000 fine after being found to have repeatedly violated Delaware’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act, a set of regulations that governs how medical professionals dispense medications with a high potential for abuse.
All three practice at Grossinger Neuropain Specialists, which has an office in the Arbor Pointe Professional Center off Del. 4 and another in Eddystone, Pennsylvania.
In a separate action, the Delaware Board of Medical License and Discipline issued a letter of reprimand to the three doctors, ordered that they each complete nine hours of continuing education and pay a $2,000 fine.
James Liguori, a lawyer for all three doctors, said he plans to ask a judge to halt the order from Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock while he appeals the case. A separate appeal has been filed with the state medical board, he said.
“These are three fine physicians,” Liguori said. “Tragically, this young man chose to go to the street when these doctors were trying to help him. Obviously, none of their actions contributed to his death.”
The Delaware Controlled Substances Advisory Committee, however, found the doctors knew the 42-year-old patient – identified in state records only by the pseudonym “Michael” – was a heroin addict.
In late 2013, Michael briefly was a patient of Dr. Irwin Lifrak, an internist in Wilmington, who prescribed the opioid-blocking medication suboxone to help treat his addiction, records show. Lifrak noted in Michael’s chart that he had been using heroin daily for six years with “some periods of sobriety.”
Michael was discharged from Lifrak’s care on Jan. 14, 2014, after he failed a urine screening that tested positive for heroin, records show.
Less than two weeks later, Michael was referred to Grossinger Neuropain Specialists by his family doctor. Grossinger Neuropain never requested copies of Michael’s medical records from Lifrak’s office, but the Stanton pain management clinic shared a psychologist with Lifrak named Dr. Allen Silberman. In Michael’s intake evaluation, Silberman noted that the patient suffered from an opiate addiction and had twice participated in an outpatient addiction treatment program at Rockford Mental Health Center.
Initially, Michael was seeking drug-free treatment for back pain and nerve damage he suffered in car crashes several years earlier, Dr. Steven Grossinger told the advisory committee during a hearing last year.
Records indicate Grossinger required Michael to sign a pain management agreement that stipulated the office would conduct screenings for illegal drugs and a positive test would result in a discharge.
Michael, however, was not screened during the nearly one year he was a patient at Grossinger, records show.
In March, Brajer prescribed the opioid pain medication Tramadol, which was replaced with another opioid, hydrocodone, a month later. Brajer then prescribed morphine.
Michael was ordered to provide a urine sample for a drug screening in June, but canceled his appointment because of a lapse in insurance, records show. Three more appointments from July to October also were canceled by Michael because of insurance issues, illness and a third, undisclosed reason.
During that time, Bruce Grossinger and Brajer continued to refill Michael’s prescriptions without seeing their patient or requiring him to submit to a urine screening, records show.
Michael finally submitted to his first drug screening on Dec. 8, 2014, records show.
After that screening tested positive for the presence of illegal drugs, Michael was discharged from Grossinger on Dec. 15 – three days after his death from a heroin overdose.
The Delaware Department of Justice subsequently brought professional licensing complaints against the doctors for their handling of Michael’s case. During a two-day hearing last April, Liguori claimed the state’s allegations were “totally misplaced,” “hysterical” and “off the mark.”
His arguments did not convince hearing officer Roger Akin, who found that Steven Grossinger, Bruce Grossinger and Brajer violated state law. Specifically, he ruled the doctors failed to require that Michael submit to screenings for illegal drugs, did not document pill counts in his medical chart and continued to prescribe opioids despite knowing he was a drug addict.
The Delaware Controlled Substances Advisory Committee chose to hold off on making a final ruling until the state medical board made a ruling on the doctors’ medical licenses. That order was issued in October and is being appealed by the doctors.
In the meantime, the committee recommended that Bullock suspend the doctors’ ability to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances for six months and issue fines to each physician.
Liguori on Tuesday said he believes the committee erred by issuing its recommendations before the appeal of the state medical board’s sanctions was completed.
“They jumped ahead,” he said of the committee. “My clients have not received due process – from the notice and weight of the proceedings through the entire way this matter has been prosecuted. Ultimately, we will pursue an appeal in court.”
The doctors have 30 days to file their appeal.
If their suspension is upheld, the three doctors will be required to submit a written request to have the committee lift their prescribing suspension after six months. If approved, the doctors will remain on probation for another three years, during which they will be required to undergo quarterly audits of their medical records.
Emily Knearl, a spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Heath and Social Services, said the agency is preparing a standard notification to state medical providers and substance abuse treatment centers advising that the doctors’ ability to prescribe opioids and other medications has been suspended.
“The reason we do the outreach is that there may be patients who are being treated with opioids for pain management, as well as individuals addicted to or dependent on opiates, unfortunately, who are at a higher risk for seeking prescription painkillers, using street drugs and overdoses,” when pain management doctors have their licenses suspended or revoked, she said.
Despite the suspension, the doctors are still practicing medicine and their office remains open, Liguori said.
“It’s business as usual,” he said. (LINK)—1/31/2017
GEORGIA PROFESSIONAL LICENSING RECORD— POD000632 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License active as of 3/18/2017; no actions listed
Sandy Springs podiatrist accused of drug-dealing still licensed by Georgia
Dr. Arnita Avery-Kelly has an active license to practice podiatry in Georgia, even though she is facing federal criminal charges that she handed out addictive opioids to patients who didn’t need them.
Medical doctors are often forced to stop practicing – at least temporarily – if they are facing serious criminal charges that involve patients.
But the Georgia State Board of Podiatry Examiners still lists Avery-Kelly’s license as active – with no concerns noted on her public profile. The board is in charge of licensing and regulating podiatrists, with a mission to “protect, promote and preserve the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Georgia.”
Board members said they usually wait to see how a case plays out before taking any action against a podiatrist’s license, even in a case as serious as the one against Avery-Kelly.
“We wait and see what the courts do,” said Dr. William Barry Turner, a podiatrist on Georgia’s four-member podiatry licensing board. “Once the court makes a ruling, then we have more discussions.”
Turner said he couldn’t comment on the Avery-Kelly matter specifically.
Dr. Leonard LaRussa, the board’s chairman, agreed that the board generally considers taking action if a licensed podiatrist is convicted of a crime, not just charged.
The attorney representing Avery-Kelly declined to comment on the case. It’s unclear whether she is still practicing in any capacity.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office, which oversees most state licensing boards, would say only that “there is an open investigation into this matter.”
In one nine-month period, federal investigators found, the Atlanta foot doctor prescribed more than 116,000 oxycodone pills, according to the charges.
The federal case against Avery-Kelly includes a charge that she maintained podiatry clinics in Lithonia and Sandy Springs for the purpose of illegally distributing drugs.
Podiatrists are limited to diagnosing and treating diseases, ailments and conditions of the foot and leg. But in Georgia, their scope of practice covers everything from treating toenail issues to performing surgery. They can get a license to prescribe the same powerful drugs that medical doctors and osteopaths can order.
Avery-Kelly was under investigation for nearly three years before she was charged. The case went public after federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided her office in April.
After federal agents executed the search warrant, Avery-Kelly voluntarily surrendered her DEA registration that permitted her to prescribe controlled substances, according to a Department of Justice news release.
Court records show the conditions of her release prohibit her from having employees or partners that prescribe controlled substances.
It’s rare for the state’s podiatry board to take disciplinary actions. A listing of public disciplinary orders on its website shows only four actions since 2012.
However, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office said four public orders and one private order were issued by the board in 2016.
“Unfortunately, the disciplinary action website is not current due to site maintenance,” said Candice L. Broce, press secretary for Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Broce provided the AJC with copies of all recent public actions.
“Under Georgia law, I cannot turn over the private order,” Broce said.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of the four most recent public actions taken by the board found the following actions: one action against a podiatrist who failed to meet continuing education requirements, two cases lifting previous restrictions and one order granting a rule variance request.
The board did discipline a podiatrist over quality of care in 2012 in a case that involved improper prescribing, the AJC found.
LaRussa said the number of complaints against podiatrists is relatively small in Georgia. “For the most part,” he said, “everybody cares and wants to do the right thing.”
Board members said they do use private orders when they feel it’s appropriate.
“To do a public order, it needs to be something major,” Turner said.
As of this week, there were 532 podiatrists with active Georgia licenses, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
In the federal criminal case, Avery-Kelly was charged along with her office manager, Brenda Lewis.
The case began after the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency met with Avery-Kelly in November 2013 and February 2014 “to discuss high volume, high dosage prescriptions she had written for opioids,” according to a summary of the case released by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
It’s unclear whether the podiatry board was made aware of the concerns about the prescribing issues.
The federal charges accuse Avery-Kelly of continuing to prescribe large volumes of drugs without a medical need and beyond the limits placed on the practice of podiatry. The drugs involved include oxycodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl, hydrocodone, phentermine, alprazolam, and promethazine with codeine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“It is sad commentary when persons in the medical community abuse their positions of trust to hide behind the veil of legitimacy to commit criminal acts,” said Daniel R. Salter, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division, in a press release about the federal charges. “The reckless distribution of pharmaceuticals results in addiction and death.” (LINK)—1/31/2017
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