Local News in Brief : Woman Accused of Posing as Physician

A woman who allegedly posed as a physician at three Inglewood-area clinics was arrested by state investigators Monday morning when she reported to work at one of the clinics, authorities said.

Alice Eunice Behrens, 34, of Harbor City was charged with two felony counts of using fraudulent records to obtain employment as a physician and misdemeanor counts of unlicensed practice of medicine and unlawfully representing herself as a doctor, according to the state Board of Medical Quality Assurance. She was being held in lieu of $5,000 bond pending arraignment today at Inglewood Municipal Court.

Officials said Behrens treated patients suffering from injuries related to automobile and on-the-job accidents after obtaining clinic jobs with the help of a false physician’s identification card and a false document from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency authorizing her to dispense medication. She also had documents indicating she had received medical training at universities in Mexico, San Diego and Colorado, they said.

A check of Behrens’ credentials by her employer led to her arrest at the South Beach Medical Clinic in Lawndale where she recently began working, officials said. She previously worked at the Orthopedic Center and Hillcrest Medical Group, both in Inglewood, they said.