CALIFORNIA MEDICAL BOARD RECORD— 66655 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—no actions listed as of 9/30/2017
Doctor faces felony for faking evidence
OROVILLE, Calif. - A San Francisco doctor faces felony charges for faking evidence to get out of a speeding ticket.
Dr. Nickesh Shah, 46, of San Francisco appeared in Butte County court Thursday and waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the charges of preparing false evidence and offering false evidence at a court trial. By waiving that right, he acknowledged there was enough evidence to send his case to a felony jury trial.
Shah was pulled over on April 3, 2013 by a California Highway Patrol officer for driving 95 mph on Highway 99. Shah told the officer he was on his way to a medical emergency.
The officer called the clinic to confirm, but was told the doctor was simply late for work. Shah was cited for speeding.
Two weeks after being pulled over, authorities allege Shah submitted a fake letter to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office from the clinic claiming he really was rushing to an emergency.
At a trial on November 22, the letter was presented to the court as evidence. However, the District Attorney’s Office proved the letter had been fabricated. The doctor was found guilty of speeding and fined $500.
In January, felony charges of preparing false evidence and offering false evidence into trial were filed by the DA’s office.
Shah will be in court exactly one year after the initial citation to determine the dates of the felony trial.
District Attorney Mike Ramsey said, “The doctor lied his way from a simple infraction and fine into a felony and potentially three years in county prison.” (LINK)—5/21/2014
Speedy doctor lies about medical emergency, faces 3 years in prison
Oroville >> A doctor caught driving 95 mph then lying and fabricating evidence that said he was on his way to a medical emergency was found guilty of felony charges.
Nickesh Pravin Shah, 49, of San Francisco, was found guilty of preparing false evidence and offering false evidence in a case that has spanned more than four years.
A California Highway Patrol officer pulled Shah over for speeding “in excess of 95 mph” April 3, 2013, on Highway 99 near Estates Drive south of Chico, according to a news release from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.
Shah told the officer he was on his way to a medical emergency at Enloe Medical Center, but when the officer called the medical clinic Shah worked at to verify the story, the medical assistant who answered the phone said the doctor was “just late to work,” according to the release. He was ticketed for speeding.
Shah then submitted a letter to the District Attorney’s Office for consideration of a speeding ticket dismissal. The letter was found to be fabricated and during a court trial Nov. 22, 2013, the judge found Shah guilty and fined him $500 after he submitted the letter as defendant’s evidence.
During the proceedings, it was also found that neither Shah nor the clinic he worked at were affiliated with Enloe Medical Center.
The felony charges were filed Jan. 14, 2014, and after more than three years of court proceedings, a jury trial was completed May 9, according to court records.
“The jury’s verdict in finding Dr. Shah guilty of fabricating evidence and trying to mislead the court underscores that the most basic function of the judicial process — the search for truth — is sacred and must be vigilantly protected,” District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in the release. “The doctor turned a traffic ticket, otherwise eligible for traffic school, into a felony which reflects moral turpitude and calls into question how fit he is to serve as a physician. He is now facing up to three years, eight months in county prison.”
Shah is scheduled to be sentenced July 9. He remains out of custody but was ordered to surrender his passport as a condition of his release. (LINK)—5/10/2017
Doctor sentenced for lying to get out of speeding ticket
OROVILLE, Calif. - A San Francisco doctor was sentenced for felony charges after faking evidence to get out of a speeding ticket.
Dr. Nickesh Shah, 46, of San Francisco, was sentenced to 30 days in jail pursuant to a three-year probationary term. As terms of probation, the doctor must serve 30 days in custody at the Butte County Jail and be monitored with an ankle bracelet for another 60 days once he’s released from custody. Additionally, the court ordered the doctor to obtain psychological counseling to address the lying and to be subject to search for possession of fabricated documents.
Shah was pulled over on April 3, 2013, by a California Highway Patrol officer for driving 95 mph on Highway 99. Shah told the officer he was on his way to a medical emergency.
The officer called the clinic to confirm but was told the doctor was simply late for work. Shah was cited for speeding.
Two weeks after being pulled over, authorities allege Shah submitted a fake letter to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office from the clinic claiming he really was rushing to an emergency.
At a trial on November 22, 2013, the letter was presented to the court as evidence. However, the District Attorney’s Office proved the letter had been fabricated. The doctor was found guilty of speeding and fined $500.
District Attorney Mike Ramsey said, “If there ever was a case for the old saying – Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive – this is it.” Ramsey said the state Medical Board of California is still investigating Dr. Shah activity in the case. (LINK)—9/29/2017
BOUNTIFUL, Utah (KUTV) A Utah doctor has been arrested and booked on suspicion of seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Nathan Ward, 55, is a Bountiful, Utah doctor who was booked into the Davis County Jail Wednesday night. According to police records, bail was set at $100,000. He has not yet been charged with the crimes he was arrested for. On Wednesday, it was reported that he bonded out of jail after posting $10,000.
Following the arrest, Lakeview Clinic has removed Ward’s bio from their website.
At the time Ward’s listing was available online at the Lakeview OB/GYN clinic’s website it stated he is “a specialist in women’s healthcare, Dr. Ward is able to treat high risk pregnancies, infertility and all types of gynecological problems.” It says he was a staff physician in the Air Force for 13 years.
It also states he is “board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a Fellow of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.”
Utah doctor arrestedUtah doctor arrested on suspicion of 7 counts of sexual exploitation of minor. (Photo: KUTV)
Sgt. DeeAnn Servey with the Davis County Sheriff’s Office said his arrest was as a result of an Internet Crimes Against Children task force investigation. Davis County has investigators on the team that lead the investigation according to Servey. She said the investigation could be called a child pornography investigation that started months ago but she declined to specify when.
Sexual exploitation of a minor in Utah is a second-degree felony, that, according to Utah criminal code. It is defined as when a person “knowingly produces, possesses, or possesses with intent to distribute child pornography; or intentionally distributes or views child pornography; or if the person is a minor’s parent or legal guardian and knowingly consents to or permits the minor to be sexually exploited.”
Probable cause documents regarding the arrest were requested by KUTV but not available Wednesday night.
Ward was arrested by the Davis County Sheriff’s Office. (LINK)—7/20/2017
Police: Bountiful doctor denied knowledge of possession in child porn case
BOUNTIFUL, UTAH — (KUTV) A Utah doctor, who has been arrested for suspicion of seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, is out on bail.
Nathan Ward, 55, of Bountiful, is an OB/GYN doctor who was booked into the Davis County Jail Wednesday afternoon.
Bail was set at $100,000, according to police records. On Wednesday evening he bonded out of jail after posting $10,000.
The Davis County Sheriff’s Department had been investigating Ward since November 2016, according to an arrest report 2News acquired on Thursday morning.
The eight-month child pornography investigation began with Internet Crimes against Children Task Force.
On Nov. 24, the task force got a tip from Yahoo Inc. of apparent child sexually exploitative images uploaded from a Yahoo account. In February, police approached Ward at Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful where he worked.
“He denied knowledge of the account or associated images,” according to police records.
Follow up investigations showed the IP addresses were linked to: Lakeview Hospital, Saint Marks Hospital, and Intermountain Healthcare or Ward’s home.
The probable cause documents outlined the nature of the images that involved sexual contact between prepubescent children, and adults with underage males and females. The document said two suspects were initially identified. After one suspect gave consent to have his electronics examined by a forensic laboratory, no exploitative material was found and no Yahoo account evidence was located. That person, whose name is redacted in the documents, was eliminated as a suspect.
Yahoo provided a response to a warrant that yielded six additional IP addresses connect to hospitals where Ward worked and his residence. The document also states Yahoo provided 37 images associated with the account that included seven child sexually exploitative images. Other images were of family members, voyeuristic photos of underage females and a selfie. They were uploaded from various hospitals or at Ward’s residence, according to the document.
The document also outlined some conversations that were sexually explicit involving underage teen girls and rape. The document asked for a no bail, stating that there was a “significant amount of other chats and emails” that investigators need to review and said there the suspect has a high net worth and is a flight risk.
Following the arrest, Lakeview Clinic has removed Ward’s bio from their website.
At the time Ward’s biography was available it listed Ward as an OB/GYN doctor. It stated he was a specialist in women’s healthcare. It also said he worked as a staff physician in the Air Force for 13 years.
“We never stop investigating in case there are other victims out there,” said Sgt. DeeAnn Servey with the Davis County Sheriff’s Department.
Our primary focus at this point is to ensure that Dr. Ward’s patients get the care they need, and our staff is diligently working to make that happen. Due to the seriousness of the allegations against Dr. Ward, he has been suspended as a precautionary measure. We are also assisting law enforcement with their investigation.
Sexual exploitation of a minor in Utah is a second-degree felony, that, according to Utah criminal code. It is defined as when a person “knowingly produces, possesses, or possesses with intent to distribute child pornography; or intentionally distributes or views child pornography; or if the person is a minor’s parent or legal guardian and knowingly consents to or permits the minor to be sexually exploited.”
Davis Co. doctor accused of sex abuse now faces federal child porn charges
SALT LAKE CITY – Federal prosecutors have leveled charges against a Bountiful doctor accused of sexual abuse and a Lehi man accused of trading child pornography with him.
Dr. Nathan Ward, 55, was indicted on three separate charges of production, possession and distribution of child pornography. A federal grand jury also indicted Robert Edwin Francis, 41, accusing him of discussing “sexually abusing and sharing sexually explicit photos of children.”
Images were also shared between email accounts linked to Dr. Ward and Francis, prosecutors confirmed to FOX 13.
Nathan Ward appears in court August 11, 2017.
Dr. Ward made an initial appearance in federal court last week as the indictment was unsealed. Court records show he pleaded “not guilty” and was ordered to remain in jail without bail.
Dr. Ward’s defense attorney, Ed Brass, declined to comment on the new charges when contacted by FOX 13 on Tuesday.
Francis also pleaded not guilty to charges, court records indicate.
The cases were discussed on Tuesday at a news conference by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI. Federal authorities said they handle dozens of cases a year, but were concerned that Utahns were reluctant to talk about exploitation and Internet safety with their children.
Robert Edwin Francis. Mugshot courtesy Tooele Co. Sheriff’s Office
“I worry in our community this is such an ugly topic we pretend it’s not there. Well, it is, and our children are the targets of pedophiles and perpetrators,” said U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber.
Children are often contacted in social media apps or in online chats and duped into sending explicit pictures of themselves.
“Kids with smartphones who believe they are talking and chatting with somebody else who is 12 years old and 14 years old and that person asks them to send a picture of a sex act and their body and they do it. That’s the first mistake,” said Steve Cagen with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Those images are then shared and re-shared amongst people “like baseball cards.” There is no one typical predator, authorities said.
“We have arrested millionaire businessmen and we have arrested the unemployed. Teachers, doctors, public safety officials, day care owners, camp counselors. What they all have in common is this same heinous crime,” said Eric Barnhart, the Resident Agent-in-Charge of the Salt Lake City field office of the FBI.
Huber said parents have a right to know what apps their children are using, their passwords and who they are talking to online.
“That seems a stretch to say my 12 year-old has a privacy right against me as a parent to protect their privacy,” he said. “No. Parents need to assert their role and protect their child.” (LINK)—7/19/2017
Bountiful doctor sent to prison in child porn case that ‘decimated lives’
Dr. Nathan Ward ‘conspired with the devil,’ victim’s mother said
SALT LAKE CITY — A popular Bountiful gynecologist “conspired with the devil” when he recorded video of a girl as he removed her clothing and shared the video with another man, the girl’s mother said Friday.
“You deserve to be forgotten,” the woman told Nathan Clark Ward, 56, moments before a federal judge sentenced him to roughly 22 years in prison.
Ward still faces separate felony child sexual abuse charges in the state court system.
“You hid behind a career in which you took an oath to protect others,” she continued, her voice thick with emotion, calling him a “filthy, disgusting man who created a false world to cover up your deviancy.”
The girl’s mother said he should be punished “to the highest level” because of the position of trust he held.
U.S. District Judge Dee Benson agreed.
“This is one of the few cases where I’ve seriously considered a life sentence,” he told Ward. “I think you deserve one.”
Benson said he chose the strongest sentence that federal guidelines allow.
Shackled and wearing a Davis County Jail jumpsuit, Ward apologized to those he hurt.
“I know what I did was horribly wrong and I know that I have caused significant pain, heartache and damage to them, and also indirectly to other individuals in my family,” he said. The doctor said he takes full responsibility for his actions.
“I don’t believe that,” Benson responded. “All you’ve agreed with is that you produced some child pornography, which is, I imagine, what you’ll tell your cellmates. I don’t know what lie you’ll tell. You might have to, to survive in prison.”
Benson said Ward’s crime “is beyond my ability to comprehend,” but he hopes the girl can recover and live a happy, healthy life. Court documents indicate the girl was 12 years old at the time.
Ward’s mother, Barbara Ward, told the judge she knew her son must serve time in prison, but she had seen a change in him over a period of months and believed he could improve.
“I would just ask that justice be combined with mercy,” she said.
Benjamin ZackNathan Clark Ward appears in court in Farmington on Aug. 11, 2017.
Ward’s attorney, Ed Brass, sought a 15-year sentence, saying that his client had helped many people over the course of his career.
“I would hope the good he’s done in his life balances out the evil,” Brass said.
The judge ordered Ward to 262 months in federal prison in Colorado, followed by supervised release for the rest of his life. Benson said he would like Ward’s 401K plan to possibly cover the cost of the girl’s college tuition, fees, books and housing, and gave attorneys 30 days to seek such restitution.
The girl’s mother said she is grateful police didn’t dismiss the case out of hand because Ward was a respected doctor and family man. He had been in practice for 25 years, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, and was suspended from Lakeview Hospital after his arrest.
Deputy Davis County attorney Nathan Lyon called the case “exceptionally sad.”
“I happen to have quite a few neighbors who indicated he was their physician and they frankly adored him,” Lyon said. “On other hand, we have an individual who has absolutely decimated lives.”
About three dozen people attended the hearing, including the girl, who continues to recover from the ordeal, according to her mother. One of Ward’s family members wept as she watched the proceeding.
The Deseret News typically does not identify victims of sexual crimes. The newspaper is withholding the mother’s name to avoid identifying the teen.
In March, Ward admitted that he streamed video on his cellphone to Robert Edwin Francis, in which he lifted up the shirt of a minor and pulled down her pants between June 2013 and August 2015.
Ward pleaded guilty to production of child pornography in a plea bargain with prosecutors, who agreed to drop two other charges of possession and distribution of child pornography.
Francis, of Lehi, admitted in November that he requested and received a live video chat depicting a man sexually abusing a child. He was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
Ward also faces 11 felony charges in 2nd District Court, including sodomy on a child, aggravated sex abuse of a child and forcible sodomy, forcible sex abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor. He is scheduled to be arraigned in that case on Aug. 2. (LINK)—7/20/2018
Bountiful doctor admits abuse, then quickly withdraws plea
FARMINGTON — Dr. Nathan Clark Ward pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse of a child Thursday, then promptly withdrew that plea after learning how the judge planned to sentence him.
Now the longtime Bountiful gynecologist accused of sexually abusing a girl is headed to trial.
As part of a plea bargain and in exchange for a guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend that Ward serve a prison term of at least 15 years concurrent with a 22-year federal prison sentence he began serving last month from a separate case.
But 2nd District Judge Thomas Kay said the case was too serious for him to follow prosecutors’ recommendation.
“I think it’s too serious to do this concurrently,” Kay said.
Ward, 56, was ordered last month to serve 262 months in a federal prison in Colorado for streaming video of a girl as he removed her clothing. On Thursday, moments after he pleaded guilty to a state court charge of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, Ward and his attorney withdrew the plea.
The development prolongs a case that the girl’s family believed would reach a final resolution Thursday. She and her mother quickly left the courtroom with other family members after the judge set a pretrial court hearing for Aug. 9.
Ward, who specialized in obstetrics and gynecology and practiced for more than 25 years, was originally charged with 11 felonies accusing him of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in 2012 in Davis County, according to charging documents. Prosecutors said he had "a position of special trust” to the girl, but did not elaborate.
In exchange for Ward pleading guilty to the one charge, prosecutors had agreed to drop 10 other charges, including sodomy on a child and forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies; plus two counts of forcible sex abuse and six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second-degree felonies.
The charges also say that “between January and September 2016, (Ward) possessed, viewed or shared at least six images of child pornography.”
He was suspended from Bountiful’s Lakeview Hospital following his first arrest.
Police began investigating in November 2016 when uploads of possible sexually exploitative images of children were detected at the hospital, according to a police affidavit.
Ward first was arrested in 2017 and accused of discussing raping teen girls and describing “desires to rape females and minors,” according to the affidavit.
Police later traced an email address that was created in 2002 to Ward. The investigation found IP addresses associated with that account linked to Lakeview and other Utah hospitals, and Ward’s home, the report states. (LINK)—8/02/2018
New York State Department of Health Warns of Potential Disease Exposure At ‘Tomorrow Medicine’ Locations In White Plains and Mount Kisco
ALBANY, NY (September 11, 2017) - The New York State Department of Health is advising any patient who has received an intravenous infusion, injection, or a blood draw at Tomorrow Medicine’s two Westchester County locations be tested for hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. Additionally, Commissioner of Health, Dr. Howard Zucker, ordered Tomorrow Medicine’s owner, Dr. Timothy Morley, to immediately stop practicing medicine, pending a formal hearing, due to charges of violating the state Public Health and Education Law and failing to produce relevant records as part of a state and local investigation. The investigation was initiated by the Department of Health and Westchester County Department of Health after four individuals tested positive for HCV. Molecular testing performed at the Wadsworth Center, New York State’s public health laboratory, determined the strains of Hepatitis C virus in all four patients were identical, suggesting transmission likely occurred at the practice.
Exposure may have occurred at the following Tomorrow Medicine locations:
37 Moore Avenue, #3, Mount Kisco, N.Y.
1133 Westchester Avenue, White Plains, N.Y.
Patients should also be tested if they received these services at a previous medical practice known as Advanced Medicine of Mount Kisco.
The Department of Health is following standard protocol in recommending testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, which are all spread through blood exposure. Individuals who have received an intravenous infusion, injection, or a blood draw at these locations should contact their health care provider to get tested. Testing is also available at no cost for patients through the Westchester County Department of Health by calling (914) 995-7499 Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Additionally, representatives from the New York State Department of Health are available to answer questions at 1-888-364-4902 Monday – Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Department of Health will also issue a health advisory to health care providers statewide to notify them of the potential exposure.Health care providers should continue to report all suspected cases of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV to their county health department, as required by Public Health Law.
Dr. Timothy Morley’s medical license was suspended following the discovery of a series of inappropriate infection control practices and concerns regarding the preservation, preparation, handling and administration of medication.The order to immediately cease operation - prior to a hearing – was issued out of concern that further lapses in infection control practices could put additional patients at risk. Dr. Morley also failed to produce relevant records or information requested by state and local health departments, within one day, as required under Public Health and Education Law.A hearing before the State Board for Professional Medical Conduct is scheduled for September 19, 2017.
Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by HBV, which is found in the blood of people who have the disease. HBV is spread when blood, semen, or other body fluid infected with HBV enters the body of a person who is not infected.Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the HCV.Individuals who inject drugs are at highest risk for infection.HCV infects about 25,000 people each year with most developing chronic infection. Many of those with chronic HCV do not know they are infected. Those individuals with chronic infection are at risk for developing chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. Treatment is available for both hepatitis B and C.
HIV weakens a person’s immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. No effective cure exists for HIV. But with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled. Some groups of people are more likely to get HIV than others because of many factors, including their sex partners, their risk behaviors, and where they live. (LINK)—9/11/2017
Investigation reveals legal problems for doctor with suspended license
MOUNT VERNON - A Hudson Valley doctor who recently had his license suspended after four patients tested positive for the same strain of hepatitis C has a long list of legal problems in multiple states.
Authorities suspended the medical license of Dr. Timothy Morley, who led the team at Tomorrow Medicine, after four of his patients tested positive for the same strain of hepatitis C. Three of those patients are from Westchester.
Everyone who got an intravenous blood draw at Tomorrow Medicine is being urged by the state Health Department to get tested for hepatitis and HIV.
News 12 has been unable to contact Morley since uncovering his long list of financial and legal problems in multiple states.
A News 12 investigation has revealed 13 liens and judgments against him involving millions of dollars, including 10 in Ohio, where Morley owns multiple properties and is also licensed to practice medicine.
In New York, there’s another three from the IRS. The financial woes extend to his medical practice, with a federal tax lien issued in March for another $16,000.
The state Health Department tells News 12 that Dr. Morley has been asked to appear before a special hearing on Sept. 19.
Tomorrow Medicine bills itself as one-stop shopping for preventative care in Westchester, from weight loss and detoxing to diabetes reversal treatments.(LINK)—9/12/2017
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