A man is being accused of practicing medicine without a license and identity theft in San Francisco after authorities discovered that he had volunteered as a nurse practitioner at a local medical clinic with "no apparent medical training or experience," according to prosecutors.
Chad Brian Litz, 39, who pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday, March 30, is in custody on $65,000 bail.
Citing court records, prosecutors said that Litz started volunteering at City Impact Clinic, located at 232 Jones Street, after he provided "a forged certificate from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, as well as other fraudulent materials."
For four months, he pretended to be a nurse practitioner, "which allowed him to treat patients with little supervision, including prescribing privileges that enabled him to dispense controlled substances to patients," a news release from the district attorney's office said.
"Litz treated at least 28 different patients, including two for whom he prescribed controlled substances," the release said.
The Department of Consumer Affairs was alerted after other volunteers at the clinic discovered Litz's alleged deception, prosecutors said.
Litz was arrested March 10 as he got off a cruise ship in Tampa, Florida. The arrest warrant alleged four felony counts for practicing medicine without a license and a felony count for identity theft.
A preliminary hearing, when a judge will determine whether there's sufficient evidence to hold Litz for trial, is set for Tuesday, April 11.
"We trust our medical professionals with our health and well-being," District Attorney George Gasc�"n stated. "Those illegally practicing medicine can cause serious harm and undermine the trust patients put in these professionals."
Deputy Public Defender Andrea Lindsay hadn't received any discovery in the case as of Thursday and wouldn't be able to comment yet, Tamara Aparton, a spokeswoman for the public defender's office, said in response to an email from the Bay Area Reporter Thursday.
Litz declined an interview request.
Christian Huang, City Impact's executive director, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Litz was at the clinic from December 2013 to April 2014.
Staff at the clinic, which provides medical services to some of San Francisco's poorest residents in the Tenderloin district, didn't return a voicemail from the B.A.R.
According to ABC 7, Litz is a Day City resident and "was sentenced to four years in prison for identity theft in 2011. He was released in March of 2013."
The news station says that in 2015, California's Board of Registered Nursing cited him "for unlawful practice and being a nurse imposter."
It's not clear whether Litz is LGBT, but he's listed as a host for a 2015 event organized by San Francisco's Grand Ducal Council, an LGBT fundraising group, at Aunt Charlie's Lounge, a longtime gay bar in the Tenderloin.
In an interview, the council's Colette LeGrande said Litz used to frequently attend events organized by the Ducal Court and the Imperial Council of San Francisco, another LGBT fundraising group, but "I only knew him through seeing him with other people."
LeGrande believes Litz dated a man involved with the court, but that man declined to comment for this story.
According to civil court records, Litz was once the CEO and president of the Pergamino Cafe near Fisherman's Wharf. A supplier for the cafe sued Litz in 2014, claiming he owed almost $7,000. The suit was soon dismissed without prejudice.
Authorities ask anyone who was treated by Litz at City Impact Clinic to contact investigator Andrea Todd at the Department of Consumer Affairs (510) 888-7072.