Indian American Arrested on Fraud Charges for Posing as Doctor in Kansas

An Indian American man was arrested in Kansas after he allegedly faked being a doctor. Vishal J. Patel, a 30-year-old resident of Glen Allen in Virginia, was arrested on charges of fraud, false statements, and identity theft.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Dec.20 that Patel used the personal identifying information of licensed physicians to pose as a doctor in online employment applications to medical staffing companies. He was being held at the Johnson County Jail in Kansas on Dec. 20, Richmond.com reported.

“Patel falsely claimed in such applications to be licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Virginia. To support this claim, he created and submitted false diplomas and certificates concerning his education, training, certifications, and licenses in which he included registration and licensing numbers belonging to various licensed physicians,” said the statement.

He has been charged with wire fraud, furnishing false information in a Drug Enforcement Administration record, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft. If he is convicted, Patel faces a maximum penalty of 20 years, along with a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison.

In order to obtain access to the information of the physicians that he allegedly faked, Patel is said to have posed as the physicians when contacting various oversight entities, including the Drug Enforcement Administration. “He directed those entities to alter the physicians’ licensing records so that they appeared to be associated with Patel. He then directed these entities to mail him copies of the altered records,” the statement added.

Patel allegedly fraudulently induced various medical staffing companies to employ him as an independent contractor through the scheme.

He was also able to get employed through at least one company at a free clinic in Newport News. Patel saw nearly two dozen patients before he was terminated as the clinic was unable to verify his credentials. The case is under investigation but there was no indication as of Dec. 20 that any patient was hurt, Richmond.com reported citing a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.