Patricia Ann Doucet worked for Dr. Steven A. Davis’ dermatology practice for 16 years before she was fired last year for allegedly embezzling from the business.
Doucet, 74, now is facing a slew of criminal charges over her time at Dermatology & Laser Center of San Antonio.
Authorities subsequently arrested Doucet in Shreveport, La. Her arraignment and detention hearing are scheduled for June 6 in San Antonio. Prosecutors intend to argue that she’s a flight risk and should be jailed until her trial.
She could spend years in federal prison if convicted on the charges.
Doucet defrauded Davis’ practice and StemBioSys Inc., a San Antonio biomedical company he cofounded, to pay rent, buy airplane tickets and make purchases at Target and Amazon, according to the indictment.
Davis has accused her of diverting about $300,000 in cash and checks from the practice beginning in 2012.
He laid out the alleged scheme in a lawsuit filed against Frost Bank last summer. In an amended complaint in October, Davis accused the San Antonio bank of assisting and participating in the alleged fraud.
“Frost substantially assisted Doucet in Doucet’s scheme to convert Davis Practice funds and then negligently or fraudulently concealed her wrongdoings,” Davis alleged.
A Frost spokesman has said it does not comment on pending litigation and has a policy of not discussing customer matters publicly.
According to the complaint, Davis and colleagues from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio organized a regenerative medicine symposium in March 2012.
Frost instructed Davis to open a temporary deposit account in the symposium’s name at the bank to handle sponsorship funding, the suit said.
Frost was supposed to close the account after the event but never did, Davis alleged. Doucet began using the account to transfer cash and checks from his practice, he added.
Davis said he regularly monitored 13 accounts with Frost online and had “hundreds of interactions with Frost employees” but there was never any mention of the symposium account.
Frost accepted more than 300 checks payable to his practice but deposited into the symposium account, Davis’ suit said. None of the checks, including one for $34,000, was payable to the symposium.
Each diverted check bore either a “manual ‘for deposit only’ endorsement,” or an alteration of the practice’s deposit stamp that “crossed out a legitimate account number and inserted the symposium account number,” the suit added.
Davis didn’t uncover the alleged fraud until March of last year, when he realized the symposium account was never closed.
Davis wants Frost to pay the practice for all unauthorized transfers, but he said the bank refuses.
In an answer to the complaint, Frost said it reserves the right to show that Davis’ damages were caused by his or others’ negligence and “failure to exercise ordinary care.”
Frost has appealed a state District Court judge’s ruling denying the bank’s motion to compel arbitration in the dispute. The appeals court has yet to rule.
Davis filed another lawsuit in February in state District Court in San Antonio, this one against Doucet and JPMorgan Chase Bank. The case subsequently was removed to San Antonio federal court.
He alleged Doucet applied with Chase for a credit card in the name of StemBioSys, which makes advanced stem cell technologies, without his consent.
She used the Chase card for her personal expenses from September 2012 until March 2020, Davis said.
To make payments on the Chase account, Davis said, Doucet “stole money from another bank and began diverting tens of thousands of dollars” from the practice.
Another financial institution issued a credit card to Doucet and “took responsibility for its fault in contributing to Doucet’s fraudulent scheme,” Davis’ lawsuit said. “On the other hand, Chase has acted evasively and denies all responsibility.”
Chase is holding Davis liable for about $50,000, he said. The account remains opens and accruing interest. He wants a court order declaring him not liable to Chase.
A Chase spokesman didn’t have an immediate comment. In its answer to the lawsuit, Chase denied the allegations and said the credit card charges were authorized.
“Plaintiffs’ actions and inactions gave Ms. Doucet actual, implied and apparent authority to use the Chase credit card,” the bank said.
Doucet has not responded to the lawsuit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Kinskey declined to comment. Doucet’s public defender didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
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