MEDIA
Raymond Pierre-Paul, NY Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Raymond Pierre Paul Office of the Inspector General Social Security Administration New York Psychiatrist Sentenced for Disability Fraud February 26, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Inspector General for the Social Security Administration (SSA), Gail S. Ennis, today announced the sentencing of Dr. Raymond Pierre Paul, a psychiatrist practicing in Nassau County, New York. Dr. Pierre Paul helped facilitate a major Social Security disability fraud scheme that involved hundreds of individuals, many of them police officers and firefighters, some of whom feigned disabilities stemming from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Dr. Pierre Paul cooperated with the investigation, and pleaded guilty [...]
Child psychiatrist Adrian Marsden – caught with more than 2,000 indecent images of children
Daily Echo Child psychiatrist struck off after indecent image crimes Child psychiatrist Adrian Marsden A CHILD psychiatrist has been struck off after he was caught with more than 2,000 indecent images of children which he claimed he viewed to help him ease stress. Doctor Adrian Marsden's child porn collection was built over 10 years until he was found out when an amateur dramatics coach helped him download a smartphone app to learn his lines. The NHS children's mental health specialist, who collected images of kids as young as eight, admitted he had a fetish and claimed he looked at [...]
Tony Tsitos, Virginia Psychiatrist, arrested
Tony Tsitos The Florida Times-Union Child-porn suspect is famous psychiatrist; Tony Tsitos gained notoriety treating 'Three Faces of Eve' patient --Excerpt The St. Augustine man charged Thursday with 15 counts of possession of child pornography is a well-known psychiatrist associated with treating the woman who inspired the Oscar-winning film "The Three Faces of Eve," records show. Tony Anastasios Tsitos, who practiced adult and child psychiatry for more than 50 years in Virginia, was arrested after police said they found thousands of sexual images of children including some as young as 1 involved in various stages of abuse on his personal [...]
Absüssamed Köse, resigns from Psych Department
Abdussamed Kose [aka Absüssamed Köse aka Absussamed Kose aka Abdussamed K.] Abdussamed Kose - psychiatrist Bianet ARRESTED IN US FOR ‘SOLICITATION OF A MINOR’ Marmara University’s Head of Psychology Department resigns İstanbul - BIA News Desk January 16, 2021 -- Excerpt As reported by Evrim Kepenek from bianet, “arrested for online solicitation of a minor in the US, the man became a head of department in Turkey.” The Head of Psychology Department of Marmara University has resigned from office. After it was understood that Assoc. Prof. Abdüssamed K., [aka Absüssamed Köse] the Head of Psychology Department [...]
Abdussamed K. – head of Turkish psychology department
Abdussamed K. Abdussamed Kose - psychiatrist Bianet Arrested for ‘solicitation of minor’ in US, man is now a department head in Turkey Having served time in prison and with his physician-in-training permit temporarily suspended in Texas for “online solicitation of a minor”, psychiatrist Abdussamed K. is now the head of the psychology department at a university in İstanbul. By Evrim Kepenek İstanbul - BIA News Desk January 15, 2021 Assoc. Prof. Abdussamed K. is reportedly the head of the Psychology Department of Marmara University in İstanbul despite being arrested for "online solicitation of a minor" in the [...]
University Psychology department head arrested
University Psychology department head Abdussamed Kose [aka Absüssamed Köse] Abdussamed Kose - psychiatrist Duvar English Marmara University Psychology department head arrested for soliciting minor in 2015 January 15 2021 -- Excerpt Absüssamed Köse, a department head at Istanbul's Marmara University is listed on a sex offender registry in the United States for trying to solicit sex from a minor in the state of Texas, news portal Bianet reported on Jan. 15. Köse was working as a physician in Houston at the time of his arrest in April 2015, local media reported, and was arrested as a result [...]
Michael Robertson, Anchorage Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Michael Robertson Press Release Anchorage Doctor Sentenced For Prescribing Medically Unnecessary Opioids In Health Care Fraud Scheme Wednesday, January 6, 2021 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason sentenced Michael Don Robertson, 68, a former Anchorage psychiatrist, to 12 months home confinement and 5 years of probation for conspiracy to commit controlled substance fraud and one count of health care fraud. Robertson knowingly and intentionally distributed controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. [...]
David Lelio, Charlotte Psychiatrist, Sentenced to Prison
David Lelio Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Virginia FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, December 18, 2020 Charlotte Doctor Sentenced to Prison Time for Conspiring to Distribute Prescription Opioids ABINGDON, Va.- A Charlotte, North Carolina-based doctor and his wife were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Abingdon on charges they conspired to illegally distribute prescription opioids in the Western District of Virginia and then made a false statement about the conduct, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar announced. David Francis Lelio, 57, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison. Nadja Siiri Kujanson-Lelio, 51, was sentenced [...]
Muhammad Cheema, Perinton psychiatrist, sentenced to prison
Muhammad Cheema Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Perinton psychiatrist sentenced to 18 months in prison for health care fraud By Will Cleveland December 10, 2020 -- Excerpt A Perinton psychiatrist convicted of health care fraud and making false statements about health care matters was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Wednesday. Dr. Muhammad Cheema, 47, who operated Upstate Psychiatry at 115 Sully's Trail, pleaded guilty in June. He was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to pay $813,495.48 in restitution to the health care benefit programs he defrauded. Between 2013 and 2017, Cheema submitted 5,000 false claims [...]
Manoj Bhargava, Fredericton psychiatrist, suspended
Manoj Bhargava CBC Fredericton psychiatrist suspended by College of Physicians and Surgeons By Lauren Bird November 17, 2020 -- Excerpt A Fredericton psychiatrist was suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons on Tuesday after the college received several complaints about him that alleged misconduct toward patients. Dr. Manoj Bhargava works at Fredericton Addiction and Mental Health, which is part of Horizon Health, and part time at the Student Health Centre at the University of New Brunswick. Alison Larade began seeing Bhargava as a first-year student at St. Thomas University. "It definitely was very traumatizing," she said Tuesday... Larade [...]
Richard Farmer, Psychiatrist, Memphis, Sentenced
Richard Farmer Press Release West Tennessee Psychiatrist Sentenced for Unlawfully Distributing Opioids Friday, October 30, 2020 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs A west Tennessee psychiatrist was sentenced today to 48 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for unlawfully distributing opioids. Richard Farmer, 83, of Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker. Farmer was found guilty by a jury on Feb. 21, 2020, of three counts of distribution of controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. The defendant was charged in an April 2019 [...]
Rajen Desai, Beaumont psychiatrist, charged with prostitution
Rajen Desai KJAS Beaumont psychiatrist's troubles go deeper than arrest in prostitution sting --Excerpt KJAS News has learned that a Beaumont psychiatrist who was arrested in a weekend prostitution sting actually has troubles that go back several years. 62-year-old Dr. Rajen Desai - along with two-dozen other men - were nabbed in the operation that was conducted by Beaumont Police and others. Beaumont Police say Desai was charged with prostitution and he is currently being held in the Jefferson County Jail. His bond amount was not available as of Sunday. According to documents on the Texas Medical Board website, Desai's [...]
Christopher Warner, Army Psychiatrist, under Investigation
Christopher Warner Stars and Stripes Commander at Lewis-McChord base hospital is suspended, under investigation By Rose L. Thayer October 8, 2020 -- Excerpt AUSTIN, Texas — Col. Christopher H. Warner was suspended from his duties as commander of Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., after less than three months on the job, base officials confirmed Thursday. Warner’s suspension went into effect Oct. 2 and was triggered by “an investigation that is unrelated to Madigan or its personnel,” said Lt. Col. Neil Penttila, spokesman for I Corps, which oversees the base. Army Criminal Investigation Command is leading [...]
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 [...]
GovGuam Psychiatrist investigation stalled
Pacific Daily News Investigation of former GovGuam psychiatrist stalled By Jerick Sablan January 18, 2020 The investigation of a former government of Guam psychiatrist accused of sexual misconduct with patients is stalled because no one on island will take on the case. The Guam Board of Medical Examiners met Wednesday to discuss the ongoing investigation into Dr. Abner Pasatiempo, who worked at the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center until he resigned in December 2019. Chairman Dr. Nathaniel Berg said the board doesn't have anybody to work on the case after other psychiatrists on the island declined. The board is [...]
Udaya Shetty, Virginia Beach Psychiatrist, sentenced
Udaya Shetty Press Release Psychiatrist Sentenced to Prison for Healthcare Fraud Scheme Thursday, January 16, 2020 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach doctor was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare, and other health care benefits programs out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, Udaya K. Shetty, 64, agreed to pay over $1 million to settle related civil claims. According to court documents, was a licensed psychiatrist practicing medicine at his own practice, Behavioral & Neuropsychiatric Group. Beginning in 2013, Shetty created a [...]