Police Arrest Man Suspected Of Prescribing Drugs At SF Medical Clinic Without License
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A man who allegedly posed as a nurse practitioner and worked in a Tenderloin medical clinic for four months has been arrested and charged with practicing medicine without a license and identity theft, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday.
Chad Brian Litz, 39, allegedly volunteered for four months as a nurse practitioner at San Francisco City Impact, a free medical and dental clinic serving residents of the Tenderloin, using a forged certificate from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners as well as other fraudulent materials.
During that time Litz, who does not appear to have ever been licensed to practice as a nurse or doctor, allegedly treated at least 28 patients with little supervision and prescribed controlled substances to two of them, according to court documents.
The fraud was discovered by clinic volunteers and reported to the state Department of Consumer Affairs.
Litz was arrested on March 10 in Tampa, Florida, as he disembarked from a cruise ship.
He was arraigned and pleaded not guilty Thursday to four felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and one felony count of identity theft.
He remains in custody, with bail set at $65,000, and is scheduled to return to court on April 11 for a preliminary hearing.
Anyone who thinks they might have been treated by Litz at San Francisco City Impact at 230 Jones St. is asked to contact Investigator Andrea Todd at the Department of Consumer Affairs at (510) 888-7072.
"We trust our medical professionals with our health and well-being," said District Attorney George Gascón. "Those illegally practicing medicine can cause serious harm and undermine the trust patients put in these professionals."
Calls to San Francisco City Impact seeking comment were not immediately returned.
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