How Licensing Boards Investigate Suspects

After evaluating hundreds of license board cases against natural therapists in North America, the similarity is giving us a good idea of how licensing boards investigate suspects. It all starts when a licensed person or law enforcement officer reports the possibility that somebody may be practicing a certain profession without a license. The person being reported becomes a suspect.

The Investigators

Once you have been identified as a suspect, one or more investigators will be assigned to your case. In different jurisdictions these investigators are from county, district, state or provincial enforcement agencies. They are usually investigators from the state or provincial attorney general's office.

These are well trained investigators. They know how to obtain a diagnosis from suspects a variety of ways. They know how to obtain advice, recommendations, prescriptions or counseling from suspects a variety of ways. They know all the symptoms for the disease, disorder or condition they may claim a medical doctor diagnosed. But more likely, they will tell you their symptoms and lead you to diagnose their condition. They know all the regular and alternative treatments for their condition. They will attempt to maneuver you into treating them or prescribing a treatment for their condition.

Being undercover investigators they use an alias, a fake name for which they have fake documentation like driver licenses and credit cards. They are prepared to go under cover and help you incriminate yourself. They are professionals and they know their business.

Undercover Investigation

The first step in the investigation is generally an undercover operation. The investigator calls the subject to arrange for an appointment. If the suspect asks how the investigator found out about him/her, the investigator has an ambiguous but believable "friend of a friend" or a "woman I met at the store" kind of explanation. If the suspect agrees to an appointment, the investigator will keep the appointment.

Appointments are made three different ways: 1) the investigator comes alone, 2) the investigator brings her/his spouse unannounced, or 3) the investigator arranges the appointment for him or herself and her/his spouse during the initial call. However it occurs the investigator arrives alone or accompanied by another investigator.

During the first appointment the investigator, or investigators, will use all the tricks he, she or they can to entice the suspect into practicing the profession in question without a license. They will ask for a copy of any forms they are asked to sign. They will ask for an informed consent form because they want to read it before they sign it. They will do whatever they need to do and say anything they need to say to entice you into practicing without a license.

If you have a well-constructed informed consent form, speak about reducing stress, managing pain, detoxifying, improving mental or physical functioning, reconnecting to the Divine or any other subject not regulated by government, and coach to empower your clients, you may never know you were ever investigated. You may suspect something when you try to contact them for another appointment and cannot find them. But you may never know for sure.

If you do not do these things you'll probably meet the investigator or investigators again under different circumstances. That will take you into Step Two - The First Casual Interview. If you were blatantly practicing the profession in question without a license, the chances are you will be arrested and charged with practicing without a license. If this happens, your first interview will probably not be casual nor friendly. That will take you to Step Three - Interrogation.

The First Casual Interview

The second step is usually an invitation to come to the investigator's office to discuss the services you offer; or an appointment to discuss your services in your office. Sometimes it is a regularly scheduled appointment that ends up being an interview which you did not expect. That is the exception. It is also an aggressive move that should alert you to the fact the investigators probably believe you are guilty. In this case ask to have this interview postponed until after you have contacted an attorney or mediation expert. This will probably not be a casual interview, it will likely be an interrogation.

Whether you are making an appointment for a casual interview or an intense interrogation it's important for you to remain calm and collected, courteous and kind. You may be headed for a major conflict if you act in any other manner. Whether you are guilty or innocent, you want to remain calm and collected, courteous and kind.

In making an appointment investigators usually say they have questions about your business and would like to handle this informally but you have the right to have an attorney present. They will not tell you that you have the right to have a mediator speak on your behalf. Always agree to a date and time for the interview with a smile on your face and in your heart -- even though you have to act a little bit to smile inside and out.

If you want an attorney present they will usually schedule the interview at their offices. You may tell them you would like to have a mediator present during the interview. Investigators tend to feel more comfortable with a mediator than an attorney. They also tend to be more open to coming to your office for the interview. Our suggestion is to have the first casual interview at your office if at all possible. It's also a good idea to have coffee and tea available. Remember to remain calm and collected and treat the investigators with courtesy and kindness.

During this interview the investigator or investigators will appear to be friendly. But their focus is to prove you are practicing the profession in question without a license. Be prepared to share a copy of your informed consent form with each investigator. (Yes, we know you may not have used an informed consent form in the past, but you are using one ever since you knew you were being investigated if you want to help your cause.) For more information about helping your cause, see Things You Can Do to Help. It will help to review How to Avoid Needing Our Services.

Formal Interrogation or Board Hearing

The next step in this procedure is usually a formal interrogation. We like to avoid that if at all possible. We try to convince the investigators you have at least been trying to practice legally and that you are willing to cooperate with them in any way to continue practicing. This is where we propose further education and minor changes in your procedures to avoid any conflict with the licensing board. This is something we do. We work with the investigators to determine what they want you to do so we can all avoid escalating their investigation.

If the investigators feel they have a solid case against you, they will escalate to step three which can be any of the following:

If you are arrested, or if you are taken to the investigator's office, you can assume the investigators believe they have a solid case against you. Our job at this point is to help you and your attorney negotiate the best deal you can obtain so you can avoid a trial -- facing imprisonment and a fine. In our experience it pays to have an attorney present at any interrogation following your arrest. Choose one who will arrange a telephone conference call with the prosecuting attorney, the investigators, our office, you and your attorney with the intention of resolving your case.

In this scenario we become your expert witness to help you reach an agreement with the prosecuting attorney to drop all charges under conditions you and your attorney both agree are reasonable. Your attorney represents your best interests. We suggest settlement options.

Both you and the prosecuting attorney have one thing in common. You both want to avoid going to court. Your attorney knows that. We know that. Three three of us -- you, your attorney and our mediator -- work together to arrive at a favorable settlement agreement.

The vast majority of practicing without a license cases can be settled at this stage of the investigation. If you were properly using a strong informed consent form and coaching your clients before this investigation started, there is a high probability your case will be closed before it ever reaches the interrogation stage.

If you were blatantly practicing without a license, you need to be prepared that at worst you may need to give up your right to practice your profession for the remainder of your life as part of the settlement agreement to avoid imprisonment and fines. If you caused severe harm or death of a client, you need to be prepared to be imprisoned. But even in these cases, the three of us working together can arrive at a reasonable settlement and avoid going to court. Depending upon the severity of your crime you may be able to have any fine suspended and go on probation for an appropriate period of time (usually 2-15 years, sometimes longer).

Board Hearings

Board hearing are held by the licensing board's representative. That representative may be the license board executive director, one or more board members, the board's investigator, an attorney from the attorney general's office or any combination of these. The hearing officers listen to you, your expert witnesses and others who feel you might be guilty. They determine if you were practicing illegally or not. If not, the case is dismissed and you are exonerated. More often than not, license board hearings end in your favor if you follow the guidelines we suggest.

Things You Can Do to Help.

How to Avoid Needing Our Services

If the hearing officers decide you were practicing without a license, our job is to help you reach an amicable agreement so you can keep practicing your profession if at all possible. In our experience boards are more amenable to reaching an amicable agreement if you agree to refer your clients to a professional licensed by their board. You agree to do this any time your client asks about seeing a licensed professional and anytime you think it's a good idea. You also agree to any other reasonable request. Following the guidelines we recommend will be a favorable factor in your defense. See Things You Can Do to Help and How to Avoid Needing Our Services.

Going to Court

The more severe the charges against you, the higher the probability the prosecuting attorney will want to take this case to court. Prosecutors thrive on winning cases that give them lots of good media at your expense. Going to court is a gamble for everybody. You never know what a judge or jury is going to decide. You can only guess until they tell you.

Whether you win or lose, you're probably out of business for life.

In other words, you want to avoid going to court if at all possible. That's why you hire a good attorney with a good winning record and you use our services. That gives you the best chance of winning and avoiding prosecution. When you avoid prosecution, you avoid incarceration and fines. But you will have more expenses than you ever wanted. It costs a lot of money to stay out of jail when your case has escalated to becoming a court case.

The message is clear. Practice according to established guidelines designed to protect you, your business and you financial future.

Confidentiality

The truth is you would like all of the above options to be confidential. It's to your advantage to keep things confidential. Your attorney legally has to keep everything about you confidential. We sign a confidentiality agreement with you agreeing to keep everything we know about you completely confidential -- unless the government has a compelling right to know.

Sometimes, the prosecuting attorney will agree to keep everything about your current situation confidential under certain conditions. The prosecuting attorney signs such an agreement on behalf of the state, province, district, any investigators and their agencies. You voluntarily sign and your attorney usually witnesses your signature.

The good news is the press, your clients, your competitors and anybody except the government does not have a compelling right to learn anything about you from the prosecutors, investigators, your attorney, NTCRS or any of our mediators.

The Bad News

The "certain conditions" are the bad news. You may need to give up your right to practice your profession until you come licensed in that profession. You may need to give up your right to practice any healthcare profession in that jurisdiction for the remainder of your life. With any luck you will be required to perform a community service, gain additional education, use an informed consent form approved by the prosecuting attorney and/or a licensing board

Sometimes to avoid prosecution you may need to give up the names and contact information of other people in your profession who practice the same way you used to practice. This is not an easy thing to do because you will be under an agreement to keep everything confidential for the remainder of your life under penalty of incarceration and fines. If you sign such an agreement, you can't tell anybody. Neither can the prosecutor, the investigators, your attorney or NTCRS and our mediators.

Nobody, not even you, can ever warn the other people under penalty of law.

You may have been investigated because somebody gave prosecutors your name and contact information. You may guess whom, but you'll never know. You may guess somebody who used to be very "gung-ho" about their business and "retired" out of the blue gave you up. You may be right and you may be wrong. They might have been reported by the same person that reported you. You both may have been "caught" because some licensed person reported you as practicing their profession without a license. You'll never know because they confidentially reported you.

But you can never discuss these possibilities with anybody except your attorney without violating your agreement with the state, province or district. Once violated that agreement is no longer valid and the penalties can be enforced. If you sign such an agreement, it's just too risky to violate it in any way.

Legal Notice:

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