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A Utah doctor whose license was suspended in Maryland following a botched abortion has admitted she misled officials about her criminal background when she applied for a Utah medical license in 2004.
An order released Wednesday by the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) requires Nicola Irene Riley to pay a $10,000 fine for her inaccurate application, which "minimized her involvement" in a credit card fraud scheme. She also must deliver an essay to DOPL and the Physicians Licensing Board describing her unprofessional conduct and how it affected her patients and her profession.
The fine is due within 18 months of the agreement signed Monday by Riley and state officials. The essay is due within three months.
Riley, 46, can continue practicing family medicine in Utah. She has lost her medical license in Wyoming and Maryland. Her attorney did not return a call seeking comment.
Explaining why Riley retained her Utah license, DOPL Director Mark Steinagel said in a written statement that division rules don't call for an automatic revocation.
"With any misrepresentation case, DOPL reviews the facts of the case, determines the potential harm to the public, and takes appropriate action. In Ms. Riley's case, DOPL decided the best agency action was not a full revocation."
His spokeswoman added that DOPL determined the Physician's Board may have granted her a license had she admitted her past wrongdoings.
Riley can no longer perform abortions in Utah under a Feb. 23 agreement with DOPL. That action was taken six months after the Maryland Board of Physicians suspended her license there, saying she posed "a threat to patients."
According to a report filed in connection with her suspension, Riley perforated the uterus of an 18-year-old patient during an Aug. 13, 2010, abortion. The teenager required emergency surgery to fix her uterus and bowels.
The Maryland board also accused Riley of falsifying information on her 2010 license application there.
In her 2004 application for a Utah license, Riley said two soldiers under her jurisdiction during her service for the U.S. Army were convicted of credit card fraud in 1991. She said she pleaded "no contest" to a charge related to her failing to report the crimes, and spent a year in Fort Leavenworth.
But DOPL said it discovered Riley had admitted to a "direct involvement." In 1990, she went to stores with other service members to apply for credit "to unlawfully obtain goods," DOPL said.
The Maryland board alleged Riley pleaded guilty to using the names and Social Security numbers of other service members to obtain credit cards and buy "several thousands of dollars of property" from jewelry stores.
The Wyoming Board of Medicine said Riley relinquished her license in April after board members said they would seek to revoke her license, based on the same misrepresentations there.
Asked why Riley would be sanctioned differently for the same misdeed, DOPL said it couldn't comment because "each state has a different set of facts."
Riley defended herself to Wyoming, saying she filled out the application from memory and didn't intend to "either hide or minimize" her crime, according to the Wyoming order.
DOPL noted it has not given up its right to issue future actions against Riley. It said it will continue to monitor Maryland's disciplinary proceedings. A spokeswoman for the Maryland board could not say whether Riley was to have a hearing in that state.
In an earlier agreement, Riley said she would not perform abortions in Utah while the state of Maryland continued its investigation.
Riley graduated from the University of Utah's School of Medicine in 2002. She completed the family medical residency program at St. Mark's Hospital between 2002 and 2005.
In 2010, according to the Maryland board, Riley began flying to Maryland from Utah every other week to perform abortions for American Women's Services.
A database of disciplinary actions against doctors and other licensed professionals by the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, from Jan. 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011, is available at http://extras.sltrib.com/DOPL_search. —
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O See the disciplinary agreement between the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing and physician Nicola Irene Riley at sltrib.com.