Lawsuit: Fake doctor practiced medicine, delivered babies at Prince George's Hospital Center

WASHINGTON - At least ten women say their patient rights were violated by a man who purported to be a gynecologist at Prince George's Hospital Center.

Prince George's Hospital Center has acknowledged that they employed a man who is said to be Dr. Charles J. Akoda. The hospital also acknowledged that he used a complex and sophisticated identity theft scheme.

However, the hospital maintains they completed a diligent and thorough background check of this man who practiced at their facility.

A week ago, a class action complaint was filed in federal court by ten anonymous women coming forward claiming Akoda allegedly falsified the majority, if not all of his medical degrees, documentations and identity, as he practiced medicine as a gynecologist at hospital for a total of eight years from 2008 to 2016 - as both a resident and then as a doctor.

Now, one woman whose baby was delivered by this man has come forward.

"He has messed up my health afterwards," said Jazmine Tinsley, one of the alleged victims. "But throughout the entire time, I put my trust in him, and now to find out that he is actually a fake, I am very appalled and in disbelief because I wouldn't expect a hospital to not do a thorough background check on people that is willing to work for them. I would expect them to really do diligent background checks on people and expect those people to be who they say they are because the name that he introduced me as isn't the name that he originally is."

"He was indicted by the federal government, the U.S. attorney in June of 2016 for a fraudulent social security number," said attorney Jonathan Schochor. "They then executed warrants at his home and found a false passport, a false social security number, altered immigration documents, altered diploma, altered medical transcripts, altered letters of recommendation."

Through a spokesperson, Prince George's Hospital Center said in a statement:

We are aware of a lawsuit filed on behalf of patients who may have received care from "Dr. Charles J. Akoda." We intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit which is based on assumptions and accusations that he was not a trained, licensed medical professional.

Dr. "Akoda" is the identity used by a trained and licensed physician in the practice of Obstetrics and Gynecology when he delivered his private patients at our facility. Dr. "Akoda" completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Howard University in Washington, DC. He demonstrated the breadth and depth of clinical competence expected of a resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He underwent biannual evaluations of his clinical knowledge and surgical skills based on the fulfilling the Core Competencies of residency training. Subsequent to completion of his residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. "Akoda" was Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2014.

Upon successful completion of his residency program, he applied for and was granted medical staff privileges at Prince George's Hospital Center. A background check performed by an outside source validated the social security number he provided. Throughout the course of his clinical activity at PGHC, he underwent scheduled Focused Practice and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations which he completed successfully.

Dr. "Akoda" held physician's licenses in good standing in the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia. We are deeply committed to high quality patient care, delivered with compassion and an expectation of integrity from every member of our team. We are disappointed that our expectation of integrity was not met in the case of Dr. "Akoda" given his complex, sophisticated identity theft scheme.

Back in 2014, Prince George's County said they looked into Akoda for operating as a doctor without a license. Eventually, the case went federal and he was indicted on that charge last year.

Now, these ten women in the complaint and at least 100 other women have told lawyers they were also patients of Akoda's at Prince George's Hospital Center and are seeking damages as a result.