In a shocking development, 44-year-old Stephan Gevorkian of Los Angeles County faces five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license.
According to prosecutors from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, Gevorkian has allegedly been providing treatments for thousands of individuals, some with “serious medical conditions such as cancer,” for several years without the permits or qualifications necessary for the practice of medicine.
The California Department of Consumer Affairs, the Division of Investigation, and the District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Division are jointly investigating the case. An undercover investigator posing as a patient visited Gevorkian’s North Hollywood business, Pathways Medical, on November 17, 2022, for a consultation.
Claiming that Pathways Medical was helping to ‘heal countless of our patients,’ the investigator soon realized something was amiss when Gevorkian failed to recognize visible hormone red flags in the blood work that could have signaled a possible significant illness.
Justin E. Sterling, Gevorkian’s defense attorney, has denied the allegations, going so far as posting a statement that proclaimed any insinuation of impersonating a doctor to treat unsuspected patients was “demonstrably false.”
Gevorkian was arraigned on Friday. He was released on his own recognizance on the condition that he does not engage in practicing medicine. However, in a case of this magnitude, the harm it could have inflicted on unsuspecting patients cannot be overstated, emphasizing the value and importance of ensuring that medical professionals are licensed and qualified to practice medicine.