Arizona man accused of pretending to be a doctor

LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — A fake doctor was arrested in northeastern Arizona, and investigators are looking for more possible victims, the state Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday. According to court paperwork, Jose Andres Lopez was indicted on Dec. 5, 2022, and Lake Havasu City police later arrested him on Dec. 16.

Court documents said Lopez pretended to be a doctor and took the identity of another doctor. He then reportedly wrote a variety of prescriptions between July 2020 and March 2021. The indictment also says he used the scheme to bill insurance companies between February 2020 and December 2020. Lopez forged documents regarding physical therapy sessions and billing, investigators said. One of the counts said Lopez lied on his Arizona Western College job application in July 2018, but the scheme may have gone all the way back to June 2017. Lopez was indicted on 48 felony counts, including forgery, computer tampering and taking the identity of another.

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The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is looking for people who may have been “treated” by Lopez at the Institute for Male Health and Performance in Lake Havasu City. Officials said he may have used the name Dr. Joseph Lopez there. Anyone with information can call the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Health Care Fraud and Abuse Section in Prescott at 928-778-7463.

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