Dr. Ramon Torres, former director of the AIDS center at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, and a respected member of the HIV/AIDS community for his work with HIV-positive patients and research initiatives, has been arrested for Medicaid fraud and practicing medicine with a suspended license.
Torres’ medical license was suspended last December for one year after accusations that he practiced medicine under the influence of drugs and alcohol. He has been accused of continuing to treat and charge patients from his Manhattan office without a valid license and submitting fraudulent Medicaid claims worth thousands of dollars.
Dr. Torres has taught medicine at New York Medical College and has served on the boards of numerous AIDS service organizations, including the Latino Commission on AIDS and LIFEbeat, a group that uses the music industry to help fight the epidemic.
"I'm HIV positive and diabetic (as well as have high cholesterol) and some of my meds specify taking them with 'high fat foods' which I have to do twice a day. I've eaten as healthy as possible, but when it comes to high fat foods, I am in a quandary...about what to eat sometimes..."
