MEDIA
Sharmistha Barai, Stockton psychiatrist, sentenced
Sharmistha Barai The Stockton Record Former Stockton psychiatrist gets 15 years in prison in forced labor case --Excerpt SACRAMENTO – Sharmistha Barai, the former Stockton psychiatrist who was found guilty by a federal jury last year of using intimidation and abuse to force her foreign-born housekeepers to work 18-hour days on minimal food and without compensation, has been sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison for forced labor violations. In pronouncing the sentence Friday in Sacramento, U.S. District Judge Morrison England Jr. also ordered more than $15,000 in restitution be paid to the victims, according to the U.S. [...]
NZ Psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks accused of ECT torture
The New Zealand Herald Abuse in Care: Lake Alice survivor calls for psychiatrist Dr Selwyn Leeks to be held to justice By Michael Neilson September 24, 2020 NZ Psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks The Crown has been accused of protecting a psychiatrist himself accused of using electroconvulsive therapy and anti-psychotic drugs as "torture" on children he'd misdiagnosed at Lake Alice Hospital. Leonie McInroe was a patient in the child and adolescent unit at the now-closed hospital near Whanganui over 18 months from 1975 to 1976, when she was aged 14 and 15. During that time she was subjected to ECT and [...]
Queensland Psychiatrist offers own husband to patient for sex therapy
Queensland Psychiatrist Courier Mail Wacky sex therapy Shrink's hubby slept with patient By Kay Dibben August 15, 2020 -- Excerpt A PSYCHIATRIST who treated a female patient with sexual anxiety by getting her to have sex with her own husband — while she watched — has been fined $25,000. The doctor and her husband also had sex in front of the patient during the highly unconventional "sex therapy", a tribunal heard. The patient had previously lived with the psychiatrist and her husband as an au pair, and the two women later became friends. But it was during a therapeutic relationship, [...]
Arvind Singh, Summerside psychiatrist, fined
Arvind Singh SaltWire Network Summerside psychiatrist fined more than $215,000 for tax evasion August 13, 2020 -- Excerpt A Summerside psychiatrist who evaded paying more than $215,000 in taxes over a period of three years has to pay what he owes and then some after he was sentenced this week. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) said Arvind Singh was sentenced on Aug. 11 in provincial court in Summerside after previously pleading guilty to two counts of tax evasion under the Income Tax Act. In total, Singh evaded $215,539 in taxes and was ordered to repay that amount along with $215,539 [...]
Richard Mitchell, Montana Psychiatrist, sentenced
Richard Mitchell PRESS RELEASE Montana Psychiatrist Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of an Opioid Tuesday, July 7, 2020 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana Helena—A Montana psychiatrist who admitted to unlawfully prescribing and abusing an opioid was sentenced today to five years of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $4,000, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. In addition, as part of his sentence the psychiatrist cannot prescribe any controlled substance during his five years of probation. Richard E. Mitchell, 35, pleaded guilty in March to unlawful possession of a controlled substance. U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon [...]
Psychiatrist Robert Fink, Seattle & New Zealand
Psychiatrist Robert Fink NZME Second American psychiatrist who worked in NZ was accused of sex with US patient By Natalie Akoorie June 6, 2020 A second American psychiatrist allowed to work in New Zealand had been accused of having sex with a former patient in the United States, the Weekend Herald can reveal. Dr Robert Ivan Fink began working for the Waikato District Health Board in August 2015, one month after fake psychiatrist Mohamed Siddiqui was arrested for using forged documents to work at Waikato Hospital. Fink's employment as a locum in adult mental health services came 18 months after [...]
Prakash Bhatia, San Diego Psychiatrist, “Overprescribed”
Prakash Bhatia Press Release San Diego Psychiatrist Pays $145,000 to Resolve Opioid Overprescribing Investigation Thursday, April 30, 2020 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 30, 2020 SAN DIEGO – San Diego area psychiatrist Prakash Bhatia, M.D., has paid $145,000 to resolve allegations that he overprescribed opioids. Dr. Bhatia previously owned and operated Progressive Health and Wellness in El Cajon, California, practicing pain medicine. The settlement stems from an investigation that the Drug Enforcement Administration initiated into whether Dr. Bhatia improperly prescribed opioids to his patients at Progressive Health and Wellness (PHW) [...]
Pramod Pilania, Pennsylvania psychiatrist, claimed he saw 120 patients in 1 day
Pramod Pilania Press Release Psychiatrist Affiliated with Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley-Area Health Clinics Who Claimed to Have Seen Over 120 Patients per Day Agrees to Pay $91,109 to Resolve False Claims Act Liability Tuesday, April 21, 2020 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Pramod Pilania, M.D., has agreed to pay $91,109 to resolve potential liability under the False Claims Act. Dr. Pilania was a psychiatrist who previously saw patients at the Northeast Community Mental Health Centers (“Northeast clinic”) in Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley Community Mental [...]
Muhammad Arshad, Harvey Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Muhammad Arshad Press Release Harvey Psychiatrist Sentenced In Scheme to Defraud Medicare by Soliciting and Receiving Kickback Payments for Medically Unnecessary Home Health Referrals Wednesday, February 26, 2020 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that MUHAMMAD ARSHAD, age 64, a resident of Harvey, Louisiana, was sentenced on February 20, 2020 by U.S. District Judge Barry W. Ashe to three years’ probation, which includes 250 hours of community service, in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition, ARSHAD was fined $23,500 [...]
Spiro Kassis, psychiatrist, Plymouth Township, sentenced
Spiro Kassis U.S. Department of Justice PRESS RELEASE Montgomery County “Pill Mill” Doctor Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Illegal Opioid Distribution Wednesday, February 19, 2020 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Dr. Spiro Y. Kassis, 66, of Plymouth Township, PA was sentenced to 48 months’ incarceration, two years’ supervised release and a $25,000 fine by United States District Judge Gene E. K. Pratter after pleading guilty to 14 counts of distributing controlled substances outside the course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical [...]