A Studio City man is facing criminal charges after investigators say he illegally provided medical care to thousands of patients at his Toluca Lake medical facility without a license, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Stephan Gevorkian, 44, is facing five felony counts of practicing medicine without certification for his work at Pathways Medical, an alternative medicine provider focused on intravenous vitamin therapy that he owned and operated.
Gevorkian is accused of falsely claiming to be a licensed doctor and “practicing medicine on thousands of individuals for several years,” including offering treatment for serious medical conditions like cancer and viral infections, according to a press release from prosecutors.
“Practicing medicine without a license is not only a criminal activity in California, it can cause irreparable harm to the health of unsuspecting people, some with serious illnesses, who believe they are under the care of a licensed physician,” Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement.
Investigators are searching for patients treated by Gevorkian and asked anyone who may have been affected to call the district attorney’s Consumer Protection Division at (213) 257-2450.
A few months ago, an undercover investigator sought a medical consultation with Gevorkian at Pathways Medical, which conducts a blood test before offering patients treatments, prosecutors said. During the undercover operation, investigators with the California Department of Consumer Affairs said, Gevorkian failed to accurately address abnormal levels of a hormone that could indicate a serious medical condition.
Gevorkian’s attorney, Justin E. Sterling, denied the allegations against his client and said Gevorkian “looks forward to vigorously defending himself.”
“It’s important to acknowledge that what is thought to be known or understood early on is not always the case in the end,” Sterling said in a statement. “Any suggestion that Mr. Gevorkian was impersonating a doctor in an effort to treat unsuspecting patients is demonstrably false.”
He did not immediately respond to follow-up questions asking what the prosecutors got wrong in the case.
The website for Pathways Medical was listed as “under construction” Tuesday, but in archived posts from the site the clinic said it was focused on filling in the gaps from modern medicine through “a combination of intravenous vitamin therapy, oral supplements and a diet change based on your individual bloodwork.”
Grace Toohey
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