2011 Annual Report - Virginia Attorney General

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2011 REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Funeral Directors and Embalmers,
Counseling, Long-Term Care Administrators, Social Work, Psychology, Physical
Therapy, Optometry, and Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology. In addition to
prosecuting administrative actions against the licensees, HPU provides training to
investigators, Board staff, and Board members. Many of the cases that HPU
prosecutes involve standard of care violations, substance abuse, mental
illness/incompetence, sexual touching, and patient abuse. Following formal hearings
before the Boards, disciplinary sanctions, including suspension and revocation of
licenses, are often imposed.
HPU handled several significant cases before the health regulatory boards in
2011. In May, following a formal hearing in Board of Psychology v. Rodriguez, the
Board ordered Mr. Rodriguez’s license to practice as a psychologist in the
Commonwealth be indefinitely suspended for not less than eighteen months. The
Commonwealth's evidence showed that Mr. Rodriguez had committed a boundary
violation by sexually touching a nineteen-year old client who had been referred by her
insurance company for neuro-psychological testing. In addition, the Commonwealth’s
evidence showed that Mr. Rodriguez had entered an Alford guilty plea to
misdemeanor sexual battery in March 2011.
The Fair Housing staff prosecutes alleged violations of the Virginia Fair Housing
Law. The prosecutions are based on “reasonable cause” findings and the resulting
“Charges of Discrimination” issued by the Virginia Real Estate Board and the Fair
Housing Board. In addition, the Unit serves as counsel to the Real Estate Board for
fair housing allegations brought against real estate licensees and/or their employees or
agents and to the Fair Housing Board for allegations against non-licensees. One of
the more significant fair housing cases was Fair Housing Board v. Briarwood Hearth
Owners’ Association, Inc. This civil action was filed in Chesterfield County Circuit
Court after the Board determined there was reasonable cause to believe that the
Association refused to make a reasonable accommodation regarding its parking policy
for resident Patricia Walsh. Ms. Walsh suffers from a mobility impairment and
requested reserved parking close to her residence. Despite receiving a copy of Ms.
Walsh’s disabled parking placard as support, the Association refused Ms. Walsh’s
request. The case settled after the parties engaged in discovery, with Ms. Walsh
receiving $10,000 in compensatory damages. Additional relief included the
Association reserving a disabled parking space for Ms. Walsh, the Association’s
board members obtaining three hours of fair housing training annually for a period of
three years, and the Association adopting a policy that ensures disabled residents will
have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their dwellings and the common areas at
Briarwood Hearth.
The Financial Crime Intelligence Center
The Mission of the Financial Crime Intelligence Center (FCIC) is to identify,
target, and disrupt the financial aspects of crime in the Commonwealth. The FCIC
accomplishes this by identifying, targeting, and disrupting the flow of criminal
proceeds. The FCIC enables Commonwealth’s Attorneys and other law-enforcement
officials to better address and attack the financial aspects of crime in their area by
identifying targets for investigations; providing “on-site” financial investigative