The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has suspended 27 more medical providers from the workers’ compensation system, making a total of 234 providers suspended in 2018.
Ten providers participated in an illegal scheme to defraud the Drug Medi-Cal program at Atlantic Health Services of Long Beach, including Redondo Beach physician Leland G. Whitson, who participated in a scheme that unnecessarily enrolled high school and middle school students in a substance abuse counseling program. He was convicted of health care fraud in federal court in 2014 and surrendered his medical license in 2017. The following providers were substance abuse recovery counselors at Atlantic Health Services and were convicted of health care fraud in federal court in 2016:
- Elizabeth Black of Long Beach
- Cathy Fernandez of Downey
- Nguyet Galaz of La Puente
- Carrenda Jeffrey of Los Angeles
- Angela Frances Micklo of Lancaster
- Lori Renee Miller of Long Beach
- Maribel Navarro of Norwalk
- Cindy Ortiz of Norwalk
- Shyrie Womack of Bellflower
The following providers were suspended because of license suspension, revocation, or surrender based on other grounds:
- Muhammad Jamil Akhtar of Tempe, Arizona
- David Elliot Altman of Chico
- David M. Bee of Loma Linda
- Stephen Richard Lauterbach of Binghamton, New York
- Lien Jay Kyri of Huntington Beach
- Lenton Joby Morrow of Sacramento
- George N. Queeley of Oakland
- David Lawrence Kahn of Oakland
- Christian Le of Portland, Oregon
- Dan Sodusta Mallada of Clovis
- Chang H. Park of Whittier
- Jyotsna Sahn of Tucson, Arizona
- James R. Vevaina of San Diego
- Renyan Wang of Diamond Bar
The following providers were suspended because of license surrender or revocation due to illness:
- Douglas Jay Kiviat of San Diego
- Gordon E. Hanusek of Panorama City
- Kathryn Lisa Cook of Newport Beach