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Police Say Fake Doctor Roamed Halls Of Tampa General

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 11, 2007

Updated: 10/11/2007 06:36 pm

TAMPA One of the men in scrubs in the doctor's lounge at Tampa General Hospital was not a doctor at all but an imposter, Tampa police say.

Anthony James David, 30, of Spring Hill, first appeared on the hospital's radar over the summer, when he requested a medical identification badge, saying he had lost his, a hospital official said. The hospital did not issue him a badge because it had to check his story, but he continued to frequent the building, officials said.

Anthony James David

David has no medical background, police said. Even so, he gave a cursory examination to a hospital employee's knee. He also befriended people at a Tampa orthopedic office, where through those friendships he distributed samples of prescription medication and advised a person to stop taking medication, police said.

He also ordered a knee brace for someone through that office, police said.

Tampa police are now seeking information from anyone who has had contact with David, who was wearing Tampa General Hospital scrubs when investigators arrested him at his home Thursday morning.

"He's known to go around in scrubs and pass himself off as a doctor and befriend people in doctor's offices and give them medical advice," police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said.

Police said they do not know how long David has been impersonating a physician. They charged David with felony practicing medicine without a license, grand theft and possession of prescription drugs with intent to deliver them. He is being held at a Hernando County jail.

Reached by phone, a woman who identified herself as David's mother said she didn't want the story "blown up" in the media.

"This is a private matter. It wasn't proven," she said. "It's not a death. It's not a murder."

Although no one was hurt by the man's advice as far as police can tell, Davis said the situation is serious.

"If you're the person he's giving advice to and it's the wrong advice, it could be a life or death situation for someone," she said. "He's not qualified to give medical advice."

The Food and Drug Administration received a complaint about a phony doctor named "Dr. David," spurring the police investigation, police said.

Representatives of the three local hospitals in Hernando County told a reporter they had no contact with him.

Tampa General Hospital spokesman John Dunn said that hospital has distributed David's picture throughout the staff after workers discovered David's criminal background when he applied for the identification badge. The hospital learned a pharmaceutical representative had had contact with David and that he had visited the cafeteria and doctor's lounge.

He was not seen in any patient areas, Dunn said.

In addition to wandering the hospital, David ran up a few hundred dollars in unpaid parking fees, Dunn said. Police said he accrued a thousand-dollar parking tab elsewhere.

Public records show David is on probation for a 2005 felony organized fraud case in Hernando County. He also was placed on probation last year after being convicted of obtaining property through a worthless check.

Fake doctors are "an issue for every hospital in the country," Dunn said. Tampa General Hospital sets up unannounced security checkpoints and requires employees to wear identification badges with their photos while on the grounds.

A few years ago, the hospital dealt with an impostor who posed as a doctor to ride in an ambulance, Dunn said. Staff discovered his ruse before he saw any patients, he said.

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