Vishal J. Patel, Impersonating a Doctor, Virginia 2019

A Glen Allen man has pleaded guilty to posing as a doctor at a free clinic in Newport News, Virginia.

Vishal J. Patel, 31, pleaded guilty to furnishing false information in a DEA record and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, Patel used the personal identifying information of licensed physicians to pose as a doctor in online employment applications to medical staffing companies. He falsely claimed to be licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Virginia and created and submitted false diplomas and certificates to support this claim.

Patel also directed various oversight entities, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, to alter the licensing records of the physicians whose information he stole. He then directed these entities to mail him copies of the altered records.

Through the scheme, Patel fraudulently induced various medical staffing companies to employ him as an independent contractor. He obtained employment through at least one company at a free clinic in Newport News, where he saw nearly two dozen patients before he was terminated due to the clinic's inability to verify his credentials.

Patel faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison, as well as a mandatory consecutive term of two years, when sentenced on March 19, 2019. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was announced by G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Peter R. Rendina, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Scott W. Hoernke, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the DEA's Washington Field Division, and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-125.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/man-pleads-guilty-posing-doctor-seeing-two-dozen-patients