MEDIA
Robert Gross, San Angelo Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Robert Gross Press Release San Angelo, Texas, Psychiatrist Sentenced to Serve 71 Months in Federal Prison on Health Care Fraud Conviction Thursday, December 17, 2015 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas Dr. Robert Hadley Gross Also Fined $100,000 and Ordered to Pay More Than $1.8 Million in Restitution AMARILLO, Texas — A licensed psychiatrist from San Angelo, Texas, Robert Hadley Gross, 58, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to 71 months in federal prison, fined $100,000 and ordered to pay $1,832,869 in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District [...]
Mohammed Khan, Berks County Psychiatrist, guilty
Mohammed Khan Reading Eagle Former Berks psychiatrist pleads guilty to writing illegal prescriptions --Excerpt A former Berks County psychiatrist, allegedly known on the streets as “Candyman”, admitted Friday to writing numerous illegal prescriptions for thousands of pills for patients who had no medical needs. Standing before President Judge Paul M. Yatron, Dr. Mohammed Abdul R. Khan said he was filled with guilt and shame. “I put myself in a situation in which I lost almost everything,” he said. “I would appreciate and ask and pray for your mercy.” Khan, 45, of the first block of Linree Avenue, Exeter Township, pleaded [...]
Marek Walczyk, Norridge Psychiatrist, Arrested
Marek Walczyk Press Release Psychiatrist and Counselor Indicted for Falsifying Medical Reports to Help Applicants for U.S. Citizenship Bypass Testing Requirements Thursday, December 3, 2015 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois CHICAGO — A psychiatrist and counselor in a Chicago medical practice were arrested today on charges they falsely diagnosed individuals as disabled in order to help them bypass certain tests for U.S. citizenship. Dr. MAREK WALCZYK and KATARZYNA FERGEMANN fraudulently declared the applicants as suffering from a physical or mental impairment that purportedly rendered them unable to demonstrate the required knowledge of United States history [...]
Alfred Ramirez, NY Psychiatrist, Arrested
Alfred Ramirez Press Release Doctor Arrested For Illegal Distribution Of More Than Ten Thousand Oxycodone Pills, Resulting In One Known Death Thursday, October 1, 2015 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James A. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and William J. Bratton, Commissioner of the New York Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a Complaint against a doctor and a co-conspirator who are alleged to have participated in a drug distribution [...]
Vilas Patil, NY Psychiatrist, Penalized $204K
Vilas Patil Press Release Oswego Hospital And Physician Combine To Pay Over $1.5 Million To Resolve Billing Improprieties Self-Disclosed By The Hospital Wednesday, August 12, 2015 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Oswego Hospital (“Oswego”), a 164-bed acute care community hospital located in Oswego, New York will pay $1,456,457.33 to resolve False Claims Act liability stemming from healthcare billing improprieties that the hospital self disclosed to the federal government, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. Dr. Vilas Patil, a physician formerly working as an independent contractor with Oswego, has paid [...]
Javier Criado, Psychiatrist, Spaine, accused of sex abuse
Javier Criado Olive Press Prominent Sevilla psychiatrist accused of sex abuse Investigation is launched following allegations by six former patients By Caitlin Quinn July 14, 2015 -- Excerpt A PROMINENT Sevilla psychiatrist is under investigation for sexually abusing a string of patients. Javier Criado, 65, has been accused by at least six women of continued sexual and psychological abuse. They claim that the abuse was carried out over the course of about two decades, both in Criado’s office at his private clinic and in his home...
Christopher Cameron, Barrhead psychiatrist, arrested
Christopher Cameron Barrhead News Psychiatrist's drink drive decision leaves career in tatters June 10, 2015 -- Excerpt Christopher Cameron, of Barrhead, was arrested after making “a catastrophic error of judgement” to drive while under the influence. Officers saw his car swerving from one side of the road to the other with no rear headlights on and he was pulled over. He was spotted as he drove through his hometown in March this year and a breath test showed he was more than double the limit. The 40-year-old, who helped to set up the first Child Psychiatric Clinic in Glasgow [...]
Abbie Ewell, Dallas psychiatrist, arrested for assault, psych license suspended “poses a continuing threat to public welfare”
Texas Medical Board Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2015 Media contact: Jarrett Schneider, 512-305-7018 Customer service: 512-305-7030 or 800-248-4062 TMB suspends Dallas physician On June 2, 2015, a disciplinary panel of the Texas Medical Board temporarily suspended, without notice, the Texas medical license of Abbie Ewell, M.D., after determining her continuation in the practice of medicine poses a continuing threat to public welfare. The suspension was effective immediately. The Board panel found that on May 6, 2015, the Board received an emergency referral from the Texas Physician Health Program (TXPHP) based on Dr. Ewell’s self-report of being unsafe [...]
Levi Chen-Wah Leong, Minnesota Psychiatrist, sentenced
Hometownsource.com Appeals court affirms conviction of psychiatrist in sex crime case --Excerpt The Minnesota Court of Appeals last week handed down a decision affirming the conviction of a psychiatrist who in 2011 engaged in sexual intercourse with an adult female patient in Chisago County. Levi Chen-Wah Leong, 49, formerly of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, was initially convicted by a Chisago County jury in October 2013. After denying his motion for a new trial or acquittal, the district court sentenced him to 48 months in prison. Leong, a licensed psychiatrist, was charged with criminal sexual conduct [...]
Abdussamed Kose, Texas Psychiatrist, arrested in police sting, license suspended
Abdussamed Kose [aka Absüssamed Köse] Abdussamed Kose - psychiatrist Texas Medical Board Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2015 TMB suspends Houston physician On April 15, 2015, a disciplinary panel of the Texas Medical Board temporarily suspended, without notice, the Texas Physician-in-Training Permit of Abdussamed Kose, M.D., [aka Absüssamed Köse] after determining his continuation in the practice of medicine poses a continuing threat to public welfare. The suspension was effective immediately. The Board panel found that on or about March 30, 2015, Dr. Kose engaged in a chat online with an individual [...]
Basem Shlewiet, Doylestown psychiatrist, sentenced
The Intelligencer Former Doylestown psychiatrist gets 7 to 17 years for sexual assault --Excerpt A Doylestown-based psychiatrist will spend the next seven to 17 years in a state prison for having inappropriate contact with his patients. Dr. Basem Shlewiet, 43, of Buckingham, was sentenced Monday in Bucks County Court. He was convicted in October on 16 criminal counts, which included forcible indecent assault, indecent assault without consent and unlawful contact with a minor. Judge Wallace H. Bateman sentenced Shlewiet to serve time in prison for crimes against each of the seven victims. Shlewiet was sentenced to 2½ years to [...]
Anthony Kim, NY Psychiatrist, Arrested
Press Republican Police: Plattsburgh psychiatrist misses hearing, arrested --Excerpt PLATTSBURGH — A Plattsburgh psychiatrist was arrested on a Clinton County Court bench warrant for failing to appear for a recent hearing on prescription forgery charges dating back to 2013, police said. Dr. Anthony Kim, 55, was arrested on Tuesday at his Seth Square apartment on Route 9 in Plattsburgh, according to Plattsburgh City Police Lt. Scott Beebie. His outstanding charges are second-degree forgery of a prescription and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, both felonies... In interviews with officers, the psychiatrist admitted he stole the prescription slips and [...]
Fermin Briones, Jr, San Antonio psychiatrist, suspended
Fermin Briones, Jr. KSAT SA psychiatrist has license suspended over relationship with patient Fermin Briones, Jr. has license temporarily suspended By Robert Taylor January 5, 2015 SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio psychiatrist had his license temporarily suspended by the Texas Medical Board over a sexual relationship with a patient. Dr. Fermin Briones, Jr. had his licensed suspended Jan. 2. The board cited evidence including videos, emails and text messages about the relationship with the patient as reason for the suspension. The board said Briones' continuation in the practice of medicine "poses a continuing threat to public welfare." Briones faces [...]
Andrew Newton, Harrisburg Psychiatrist, guilty
Andrew Newton The News-Item (Shamokin, Pennsylvania) Mount Carmel psychiatrist pleads guilty to Medicare fraud December 8, 2014 Monday By Rob Wheary -- Excerpt --HARRISBURG -- A Mount Carmel psychiatrist accused of fraudulently billing Medicare for psychotherapy sessions that didn't happen pleaded guilty to the charges in federal court Nov. 25. Dr. Andrew Newton, 42, of Harrisburg, the owner-operator of the Newton Psychiatric Clinic, pleaded guilty to six counts of theft or embezzlement in connection with health care in the Nov. 25 court appearance... Authorities alleged Newton billed Medicare for a face-to-face psychotherapy services with patients in Pennsylvania when Newton was [...]
Thomas Havel, California psychiatrist, sexual misconduct
Thomas Havel San Jose Mercury News Mountain View: Advocates for those molested by priests want psychiatrist out of El Camino Hospital By Eric Kurhi December 5, 2014 --Excerpt Victim advocates Friday called for the ouster of a psychiatrist and former priest who has practiced at El Camino Hospital for decades, citing accusations that he had molested two teenage girls years ago. In 1988 Dr. Thomas Havel, now 77, was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl whom he had counseled before coming to El Camino, beginning when she was 13 years old. That lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that [...]
Daniel Brandt, New Mexico Psychiatrist, Roughs up Patient
Las Cruces Sun-News (New Mexico) Las Cruces psychiatrist abused former patient, police say --Excerpt A Las Cruces psychiatrist has been arrested after police say he abused a former patient. Daniel J. Brandt, 54, was charged with one count of abuse of a resident, a fourth-degree felony, according to a Las Cruces Police Department news release. Police allege Brandt grabbed the hoodie of a 28-year-old former patient, twisted it in his hand and escorted the intellectually disabled inside Campo Behavioral Health Services on Tuesday. Brand's hold was tight enough, according to police, that the man choked and passed out for [...]
David Daley, Lehigh County psychiatrist, convicted
David Daley lehighvalleylive.com Former Lehigh County psychiatrist convicted of running pill mill --Excerpt A former Lehigh County psychiatrist faces jail time after a jury found he repeatedly improperly prescribed medications to patients, some of whom are accused of being part of a prescription drug ring. Dr. David Daley's trial began Sept. 16 in Lehigh County Court on charges of helping patients fraudulently obtain prescription drugs and multiple counts of prescribing controlled substances outside of accepted medical principles. Daley formerly practiced at 7729 Main St. in Upper Macungie Township. Jurors began deliberating Thursday and came back Thursday evening with guilty verdicts [...]
Zahid Imran, Louisiana Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Zahid Imran PRESS RELEASE Louisiana Psychiatrist Sentenced to Serve More Than Seven Years in Prison for His Role in $258 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme Monday, August 25, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Office of Public Affairs A Louisiana psychiatrist was sentenced in federal court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, today to serve 86 months in prison for his role in a $258.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving partial hospitalization psychiatric services. He was further ordered to pay $43.5 million in restitution and to forfeit all proceeds from the fraudulent scheme. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, [...]
Anil Ramachandran, Libertyville psychiatrist – “alleged cases of sexual assault”
Anil Ramachandran Chicago Sun-Times Sex assault allegations prompt suspension of doctor's license; State's attorney's office, Waukegan police review the case for criminal charges By Ruth Fuller July 4, 2014 -- Excerpt Prosecutors said they have not yet decided whether they will criminally charge a Libertyville psychiatrist who has been sued civilly for two alleged cases of sexual assault, one of which occurred in November and resulted in his DNA being found inside a woman’s body. Waukegan police and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office are investigating the complaints against Dr. Anil Ramachandran, whose license to practice medicine in Illinois was [...]
Priscilla Sheldon-Cost, Baltimore psychiatrist, charged
Priscilla Sheldon-Cost Daily Mail Yale-educated addiction psychiatrist is charged with making and selling ecstasy with her boyfriend in basement lab --Excerpt Police in Maryland have charged three people in connection with manufacturing MDMA, commonly referred to as Molly or the drug ecstasy, including a doctor who has a long-standing history of drug problems. Baltimore County cops said a drug investigation led to a search warrant and the arrest of Dr. Priscilla Sheldon-Cost, 51, at a house in Towson... The Baltimore Sun reports that Sheldon-Cost was an addiction rehabilitation psychiatrist with a history of treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. Sheldon-Cost [...]
Patricia Hough, Florida Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Patricia Hough Press Release Florida Doctor Sentenced for Federal Tax Crimes Friday, May 9, 2014 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs Doctor Maintained Multiple Offshore Bank Accounts at UBS and Other Foreign Banks That Concealed More Than $60 Million in Income and Assets Dr. Patricia Lynn Hough, of Englewood, Florida, was sentenced today to serve two years in prison and three years supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge John Steele in Fort Myers, Florida, for conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by concealing millions of dollars in assets and income in offshore bank accounts at UBS [...]
Joel Rice, Oregon Psychiatrist, sentenced for shooting cows
Capital Press Psychiatrist sentenced in cattle shooting --Excerpt LA GRANDE, Ore. — A psychiatrist from Eastern Oregon has pleaded guilty to seven counts of first degree animal abuse for shooting several cows last year. Joel Rice, 57, was sentenced to two days in jail and two years of probation, as well as $1,600 in fines and 369 hours of community service. As conditions of his probation, Rice must also build a corral on his property to hold trespassing cattle and rebuild a fence that separates his property from a neighbor’s. In August 2013, Rice shot seven cows that had wandered [...]
Alen Salerian, DC psychiatrist – unfit to stand trial
Alen Salerian Washingtonian Alen Salerian Declared Unfit to Stand Trial By Ariel Sabar April 8, 2014 -- Excerpt Alen Salerian, the psychiatrist whose downfall was chronicled in Washingtonian’s February issue (“The Spectacular Unraveling of Washington’s Favorite Shrink”), has been found unfit to stand trial. A federal judge in southwestern Virginia last Friday declared Salerian “mentally incompetent” to assist in his own defense and indefinitely postponed his trial on felony charges of distributing narcotic painkillers to people with no legitimate need for them. According to the judge’s ruling, Salerian’s own lawyers at Katten Muchin Rosenman concurred with a court-appointed forensic psychologist’s [...]
Mikhail Presman, Brooklyn Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Mikhail Presman PRESS RELEASE Former Veterans Affairs Psychiatrist Sentenced To 18 Months’ Imprisonment For Medicare Fraud Thursday, March 13, 2014 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York Dr. Mikhail Presman Falsely Claimed To Provide At-Home Services While Employed Full-Time At A VA Hospital BROOKLYN, NY – Dr. Mikhail L. Presman, a licensed psychiatrist employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), was sentenced today by Judge I. Leo Glasser in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, to 18 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release for Medicare fraud. As part of [...]
Richard Sofinowski, Austin psychiatrist, Suspended
Austin American-Statesman Medical board suspends Richard Sofinowski, psychiatrist accused in Austin drug ring --Excerpt A Texas Medical Board panel has suspended the license of Austin psychiatrist Richard Edward Sofinowski who was indicted on drug charges last month, the board announced Monday. The panel took the action Feb. 6 saying that Sofinowski’s medical practice posed a continuing threat to public welfare. In November, he was arrested at his residence by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office after authorities searched his home and discovered 11.5 grams of methamphetamine and several hundred tablets of controlled substances, according to [...]