The state has suspended the medical license of a Beverly Hills dermatologist accused of fraudulently collecting $1.6 million in disability benefits in California.
Dr. Glenn Ledesma signed a consent order with the Connecticut Department of Public Health agreeing to the suspension pending an investigation of the allegations against him. State records show he has had a Connecticut license since 1987. The consent order was filed on March 23.
Ledesma’s website says he had served as chief of dermatology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and was a researcher for the former Upjohn Co.
He and his son, Jonathan Ledesma, CEO of LeDerma Dermatology, work together and in March 2015, they were arrested and charged with multiple felony counts of health care disability fraud, California Department of Insurance officials said in a press release.
Glenn Ledesma, owner of the California Dermatology Center, submitted a disability claim in 1997 stating that he could not treat patients due a medical condition.
His insurer told him he could receive disability benefits while running the corporation but was not allowed to treat patients, the press release said. But from 2008 to 2013, he treated more than 2,900 patients while collecting $1.6 million in disability payments, the release said.
In 2008, Jonathan Ledesma, who does not have a license in Connecticut, filed a disability claim saying he was unable to work for medical reasons. California officials said he denied knowing Glenn Ledesma even though he listed the doctor as his employer, and investigators determined that Glenn Ledesma had adopted him.
From 2010 to 2013, Jonathan Ledesma collected more than $200,000 in fraudulent disability benefits while serving as the company’s CEO, the press release said.
Their bail was initially set at $50,000 and they face 20 years in state prison if convicted.