MEDIA
Kevin George, Colonie psychiatrist, Arrested
Kevin George New Haven Register Psychiatrist faces sex counts --Excerpt COLONIE — A Colonie psychiatrist was arrested Friday and charged with inappropriately touching two female employees. Dr. Kevin W. George, 52, of Psychopharmacology Consultants of Albany, was charged with two counts of sexual abuse and two counts of forcible touching, all misdemeanors. "He presented himself to them in a sexual manner, touching both of them as well as rubbing himself against them in a sexual way," said. Lt. Robert Winn, spokesman for Colonie Police. George specializes in prescribing medication to adults and adolescents with mental health problems... Excerpted from: Psychiatrist [...]
Stephen Melcher, Sacramento psychiatrist, sentenced
Sacramento Business Journal Sex conviction for leading doctor --Excerpt Dr. Stephen Melcher, a former South Sacramento psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente and former president of the Sacramento-Sierra Valley Medical Society, has been sentenced to 365 days in jail following conviction for a felony sexual act with a minor. He is currently in custody, said Shelly Orio, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento County District Attorney. Melcher was arrested in December and pleaded no contest April 3 to a lewd and lascivious act upon a child under the age of 14. He was sentenced on Friday. The charge [...]
Mysterious Vermont Top Prescriber Faces Prescription Investigation
Burlington Free Press Vermont doctor faces prescription investigation By Sam Hemingway May 6, 2012 A doctor identified by the Department of Vermont Health Access as one of the top Medicaid prescribers of narcotic and other federally regulated medications in the state is under investigation by the Medical Practice Board for excessive prescribing of some of the drugs. “We looked at specific prescribing practices and identified something that was far enough outside the norm that we felt it warranted further investigation,” Mark Larson, the department commissioner, said last week. The decision to refer the doctor to the board for investigation was [...]
James Peak, Montana Psychiatrist, sentenced
James Peak THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MONTANA Press Release James H. Peak Sentenced in U.S. District Court FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, December 07, 2011 The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on December 7, 2011, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, JAMES H. PEAK, a 49-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. PEAK was sentenced to a term of: Prison: 12 months and 1 day Special Assessment: $100 Supervised Release: life PEAK was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of child pornography. In an Offer of Proof [...]
Michael Applebaum, Nampa Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Michael Applebaum The Idaho Statesman (Boise) Nampa doctor sentenced for Medicaid fraud November 22, 2011 -- Excerpt Michael Applebaum, a former licensed psychiatrist in Nampa, has been sentenced to two to five years in prison for Medicaid provider fraud and obstruction of an investigation. A jury convicted Applebaum in August of two counts each of provider fraud and obstructing an investigation... The jury said Applebaum altered documents before giving them to investigators for the Idaho attorney general's office and told the investigators that certain records were out of the office for dictation...
Dorval Gold, Pembroke Pines Psychiatrist, grand theft charge
Palm Beach Post (Florida) Dosed in juvie jail: Troubled doctors hired to treat kids in state custody --Excerpt By the time Florida started paying Dr. Gold Smith Dorval to counsel and medicate jailed children, the Pembroke Pines psychiatrist already had experience with kids in state custody. He had used them, authorities said, to bilk the government out of money for the poor. When Dorval pleaded no contest to a felony grand theft charge, it should have barred him, by law, from working for Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice. It didn't. And, like Dorval, other doctors have emerged from past [...]
Kissimmee Psychiatrist Ramarao Makkena, arrested in Sex Sting
Kissimmee Psychiatrist Ramarao Makkena Orlando Sentinel Kissimmee fraud, sex stings lead to arrests --Excerpt A local psychiatrist was arrested along with more than a dozen others in an Internet sex sting run by Kissimmee police last week, records show. Dr. Ramaro Makkena, who has a child-and-adolescent practice on West Vine Street, was arrested Friday on prostitution-related charges after entering a decoy house set up for the week-long investigation, according to police. Dr. Makkena, who charged with assignation of prostitution and entering a dwelling for prostitution, was released Friday on $500 bail from the Osceola County Jail. He could not be [...]
Vladimir Rajkovic, Zimbabwe psychiatrist, arrested
Vladimir Rajkovic NewsDay ‘Psychiatrist wanted woman to have sex with dog’ By The NewsDay June 30, 2011 -- Excerpt A psychiatric doctor, Vladimir Rajkovic, may well require mental examination himself after he was hauled before the courts for allegedly inserting an artificial manhood into a woman’s private parts before trying to force her into bestiality. He also allegedly took pictures of the woman in the nude before threatening her with a gun after she refused to engage in the act. The incident which is likely to shock some ladies of the night is said to have occurred on June 7 [...]
Sohail Punjwani, Broward County psychiatrist, arrested – cocaine
Sohail Punjwani The Miami Herald Boy’s county psychiatrist has other issues; Child welfare | Gabriel Myers’ psychiatrist April 23, 2011 By Carol Marbin Miller and Diana Moskovitz -- Excerpt In the two years since the death of Gabriel Myers, the boy’s Broward County psychiatrist, whose prescribing practices drew the ire of state regulators and children’s advocates, has found himself in ever-deeper hot water. On July 18 of last year, Sohail Punjwani was arrested by Miami Beach police officers for driving under the influence and cocaine possession. In August, Punjwani entered into a pretrial diversion program and will not be [...]
Kimberly Hammes Frank, Mequon psychiatrist, charged
Journal Sentinel Mequon psychiatrist charged with child abduction attempt in Florida --Excerpt A Mequon psychiatrist has been arrested in Florida on charges of child abuse after sheriff’s officials there say she tried to abduct two children from a beach north of Naples. Kimberly Hammes Frank, 47, was arrested Wednesday, according to Collier County Sheriff’s Office records. A sheriff’s spokeswoman said Frank was later released on $30,000 bond. She is scheduled for arraignment on the charge of child abuse without great harm, a felony, on May 2. An arrest report indicates a woman was playing in the Gulf of Mexico [...]
Richard Adamson, Seattle Psychiatrist, accused of sex with 2 patients
Richard Adamson Seattlepi.com Woman sues Seattle psychiatrist accused of sex with patients By Vanessa Ho April 7, 2011 -- Excerpt A Seattle psychiatrist accused by the state of having sex with two patients has been sued by one of his patients, who said his actions caused her "severe psychological and emotional injury." Last week, the state's Medical Quality Assurance Commission suspended the license of Richard T. Adamson, after accusing him of having sex with two female patients and disclosing the contents of their therapy sessions to other patients. Much of the woman's lawsuit, filed Monday in King County Superior Court, [...]
Douglas Rank, Kentucky psychiatrist, sentenced for stabbing
The Cincinnati Enquirer Psychiatrist sentenced for stabbing --Excerpt Dr. Douglas Rank was sentenced after pleading guilty in October to first-degree assault. Rank, 52, will not be eligible for parole until he serves 85 percent of his sentence. The charge was punishable by 10 years to 20 years in prison. Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders had recommended 15 years... Gettys also called his client's rabbi and former dance partner to testify on Rank's behalf. That testimony didn't sway the judge. "Not one person mentioned he did a terrible thing," Judge Gregory Bartlett said. "Why is that? Why is (it) all the [...]
Arturo Hernandez-Pena, Orange County Psychiatrist, arrested
Orlando Sentinel Jail psychiatrist is arrested over billing --Excerpt A psychiatrist who saw patients at the Orange County Jail before his arrest last week is accused of ripping off an insurance company by billing for unnecessary treatment, court records show. Dr. Arturo Hernandez-Pena, 52, an employee of the Orange County Department of Health and Human Services, was arrested at the jail Dec. 1. He was fired the next day, records show. Court records show Hernandez-Pena’s arrest stemmed from treatment he provided outside his jail job, at a business referred to in court records as Orlando [...]
EDITORIAL: Why are doctors writing so many prescriptions?
Tuscaloosa News November 5, 2010 No doubt, Robert Bentley\'s \'to do\' list is growing daily as he prepares to become Alabama\'s next governor, but we hope he will add this: getting the state\'s Medicaid agency to release information on prescriptions written for expensive drugs. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has been gathering information from across the nation to see why some doctors are writing stunning numbers of prescriptions that are paid for by taxpayers. Most states have provided this data; Alabama has not. It is important because, as it turns out, some doctors are writing far more prescriptions for psychiatric [...]
Edmundo Chirinos, Venezuela Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Edmundo Chirinos Associated Press Venezuelan psychiatrist sentenced in slaying September 29, 2010 -- Excerpt A prominent Venezuelan psychiatrist who once ran for president has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the murder of a young woman who was his patient. The attorney general's office said Wednesday that Edmundo Chirinos was convicted of killing 19-year-old Roxana Vargas, whose body was found with a blow to the head in 2008 in a park on the outskirts of Caracas. Chirinos had pleaded innocent to the intentional homicide charge. The attorney general's office says investigators found some 1,200 photographs of nude [...]
Yolande Lucire, New South Wales Psychiatrist, banned
Yolande Lucire The Sydney Morning Herald Psychiatrist banned from treating patients By Kim Arlington and Bellinda Kontominas August 28, 2010 ''JULIA'' is detained indefinitely in a hospital psychiatric unit after stabbing her father and teenaged sister to death while in the grip of psychosis in 2007. Her psychiatrist, Yolande Lucire, was yesterday banned from treating any more patients after the NSW Medical Tribunal found there were serious shortcomings in the way she managed the 25-year-old's illness. Under conditions imposed by the Medical Board to protect the public, Dr Lucire has not been permitted to treat patients since December 2008. Yesterday [...]
Leonard Friedman, Mass. Psychiatrist, arrested
Leonard Friedman Boston Globe Middleton psychiatrist arrested By Julie Balise July 14, 2010 -- Excerpt A Middleton psychiatrist was arrested yesterday morning and charged with writing prescriptions for cash payments. Leonard Friedman, 73, was held on $50,000 bail and faces 14 counts of issuing prescriptions for Class B and Class C substances, according to a statement from Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office. The crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in prison for Class B substances or five years for Class C substances. “A doctor who trades addictive drugs for cash makes a mockery of the [...]
Psychiatrist Sohail Punjwani Warned by FDA
Psychiatrist Sohail Punjwani The Miami Herald FDA warns psychiatrist who treated dead foster child By Carol Marbin Miller March 16, 2010 -- Excerpt A South Florida psychiatrist who was treating a 7-year-old foster child before the boy committed suicide last year has received a warning from federal drug regulators who say he failed ``to protect the rights, safety and welfare'' of children enrolled in clinical drug trials. In a strongly worded letter dated Feb. 4, regulators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Dr. Sohail Punjwani over-medicated children who were enrolled in clinical trials for undisclosed drugs. One [...]
Igor Magier, Chesapeake psychiatrist, license revoked
Igor Magier The Virginian Pilot State board strips psychiatrist of license after series of run-ins By Elizabeth Simpson March 03, 2010 -- Excerpt A Chesapeake psychiatrist who was first investigated for improperly prescribing drugs more than two decades ago has lost his medical license. The Virginia Board of Medicine's decision last week to revoke the license of Igor Magier, who once had a practice on Cedar Lakes Drive, was unusual. In 2009, the board took this action against only three of the 31,200 medical doctors licensed in the state. Magier was first put on probation by the board [...]
Ashrap Amin, NYC psychiatrist, sex assault charge
Bergennow.com New York City psychiatrist has been arrested --Excerpt DUMONT, N.J. – A New York City psychiatrist has been arrested and charged with sexual assault upon an underage female, authorities say. Ashrap M. Amin, 42, of East Elmhurst, New York, was arrested on Thursday, November 19 by members of the Dumont Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Venezio, along with the county’s Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit. The investigation commenced after law enforcement reportedly learned that Amin had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct in the presence of the girl during the month of May, 2009. The [...]
James Edgar, South Tampa psychiatrist, arrested
James Edgar South Florida Sun-Sentinel HERE'S HOW TO SETTLE A DISPUTE WITH YOUR POOL CLEANER. BRING OUT YOUR SHOTGUN --Excerpt Let's see if we've got this right. A South Tampa psychiatrist hauls out a gun after he and a pool cleaner get in an argument. Aren't psychiatrists supposed to talk people through conflicts? But James Roy Edgar, 64, a South Tampa psychiatrist, told police he confronted Stephen Lafoe, 35, an employee of Bay Area Pool Service, outside his home because he had repeatedly asked pool cleaners not to park in his private driveway... Lafoe said he ignored the doctor as [...]
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Paul Fox The New Zealand Herald Psychiatrist Paul Fox, who treated Adam Lanza and Waikato patients guilty of sexual assault --Excerpt An American psychiatrist who was employed by Waikato District Health Board after surrendering his licence in the US amid controversy over an affair with a young patient, has pleaded guilty to her sexual assault. Dr Paul Fox is facing 18 months in prison in his native country after pleading guilty in Danbury, Connecticut, to sexually assaulting the teenager in 2011. The 66-year-old is infamous for treating a teenaged Adam Lanza - who went on to fatally shoot 26 people [...]
Jean Eric Gassy, Aussie Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Jean Eric Gassy The Sydney Morning Herald Ex-psychiatrist gets 30 years for murder --Excerpt Former Sydney psychiatrist Jean Eric Gassy held a murderous grudge for eight years. When deregistered from his profession, Gassy blamed his boss, Margaret Tobin... Gassy hired a car, drove from Sydney to Adelaide, and killed Dr Tobin. He shot his ex-boss four times from close range as she exited a lift in her central Adelaide office block... Gassy, who has never admitted to killing Dr Tobin, was found guilty of the murder for a second time last month and handed a 30-year non-parole period on Friday. [...]
Randall Foster, Las Vegas psychiatrist, loses right to prescribe
Randall Foster Las Vegas Sun Another doctor loses his right to prescribe Psychiatrist, 81, can no longer provide patients access to controlled substances --Excerpt The Nevada State Medical Examiners Board has stripped a Las Vegas psychiatrist of his license to prescribe controlled substances because the drugs he prescribed to a Kentucky woman may have contributed to her suicide. The medical board took the action against Dr. Randall Foster at an emergency meeting Monday because he “presents an unacceptable risk to the citizens of Nevada,” documents show. Authorities are continuing to investigate other patient complaints about the doctor. Foster, who is [...]
Leo D’Souza, Cincinnati child psychiatrist, loses license
Leo D'Souza The Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio) Psychiatrist loses medical license --Excerpt A Cincinnati child psychiatrist who is facing sex crime charges lost his medical license this week. The Ohio Medical Board permanently revoked the license of Leo D’Souza after reviewing a 50-page report on the accusations that several former patients made against him. A Hamilton County grand jury indicted D’Souza in February on four charges of gross sexual imposition and one charge of sexual imposition. The charges involve four patients, now ages 14 to 21, who accuse the doctor of molesting them. The indictment does not name D’Souza’s accusers, so [...]