A Glen Allen man pleaded guilty Monday to posing as a doctor at a free clinic in Newport News, where he saw nearly two dozen patients.
Vishal J. Patel, 31, pleaded guilty to furnishing false information in a DEA record and aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum penalty of four years, along with a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
Patel “used the personal identifying information of licensed physicians to pose as a doctor in online employment applications to medical staffing companies,” according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecutors said Patel lied in the applications and claimed “to be licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Patel made and submitted fake diplomas and certificates concerning his education, training, certifications, and licenses where he included registration and licensing numbers belonging to various licensed physicians, according to the news release.
To get access to their information, Patel posed as the physicians when contacting various oversight entities, including the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Patel 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.
Through the scheme, “Patel fraudulently induced various medical staffing companies to employ him as an independent contractor,” prosecutors said.
Patel 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 because of the clinic’s inability to verify his credentials.
