Medical Board of California Arrests a San Diego County Resident for Unlicensed Practice of Medicine

Business Wire, May 11, 2004

News Editors/Health/Medical Writers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2004

Investigators from the Medical Board of California arrested an unlicensed person, Rigoberto Camacho Alvarez, on May 6, 2004, for identify theft and practicing medicine without a license. Alvarez was arrested without incident in his vehicle in San Diego and transported to the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana. He is charged with violating Business and Professions Code section 2052(a), a felony, for practicing without a California medical license, and Penal Code 530.5(a), a felony, for obtaining the personal identification of another unlawfully and using that information for an unlawful purpose. Alvarez is being held on $200,000 bail.

Medical Board investigators identified Alvarez after receiving information from a physician in Florida alerting them that someone was using his name and identity to practice medicine at the First and Bristol Medical Clinic in Santa Ana.

The investigation revealed that Alvarez was not a physician but had worked at the clinic for the past year treating patients. A physician who owns the clinic has cooperated with the Medical Board's investigation. Information obtained during the investigation led to a residential area in La Mesa where Alvarez was living.

The Medical Board of California and the Orange County District Attorney's office are asking that anyone who may have received medical treatment from Alvarez please call the board at (714) 247-2126.

The mission of the Medical Board is to protect healthcare consumers through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied healthcare professions and through the vigorous, objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act.

If you have a question or complaint about the healthcare you are receiving, the Board encourages you to visit its Web site at www.caldocinfo.ca.gov, or for questions call the Consumer Information Line at (916) 263-2382, or with complaints call (800) 633-2322.