Medical Board Names Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon in Accusation : Health: State documents allege the doctor allowed his ex-wife to assist in procedures. The former spouse says all allegations are false.

The ex-wife of a Newport Beach plastic surgeon allegedly passed herself off as a physician for four years and may have participated in surgery without having a license to practice medicine, according to the Medical Board of California.

In a formal accusation filed last week, the board alleged that Dr. Nguyen Abram allowed his ex-wife, Theresa Bouvier, to “assist in surgeries” in 1989 and 1992 and portray herself as a doctor from 1989 to 1993, but does not spell out her role. The accusation contains few specifics on Bouvier’s activities.

It also alleges that Abram falsified medical records in order to defraud insurance agencies, and that he improperly stored the drug Demerol in the couple’s garage, only to see it stolen from there.

In an interview, Bouvier said all the allegations are false, and contended that the medical board investigator on the case, Larry Blochl, repeatedly harassed her after she rebuffed his romantic solicitations and business offers.

She said that Blochl frequently offered her business opportunities, which she rejected, and repeatedly called her a “beautiful woman.”

“When I turned him down, he became upset,” Bouvier said. “I’m very much a victim.” Abram did not return several telephone calls to his office Wednesday.

Bouvier said she and Abram are planning to sue the medical board or Blochl for malicious prosecution. Philip Rafferty, the couple’s attorney, said he recently sent a letter to the board indicating his intent to sue, but is “re-evaluating” that threat.

Blochl could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Felix Rodriguez, a supervising investigator for the medical board, said he would not address any of Bouvier’s allegations until she and her husband file a lawsuit or response.

None of Bouvier’s allegations about Blochl are “substantiated,” Rodriguez said. “She’s said some things she might regret later.”

The accusations against Bouvier and Abram have been turned over to the Orange County district attorney’s office for investigation, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also refused to elaborate on any specific medical procedures Bouvier may have performed, saying “the matter is with the district attorney’s office.”

The Sacramento-based Medical Board of California licenses and polices the state’s 77,000 physicians. Abram, who could face loss of his medical license, has the right to a hearing before an administrative law judge, who would recommend whether the medical board should take action.

The board’s accusation refers to seven patients who were treated at Abram’s practice between 1989 and 1993. In three cases, the report alleges, Bouvier portrayed herself as a doctor. In four instances, she allegedly practiced medicine without a license, and may have twice participated in surgery, according to the 55-page document.

The state documents accuse Abram of five instances of insurance fraud. They allege that Abram “failed to maintain records or keep an inventory” of Demerol he stored in his garage.

In 1990, Bouvier reported to Newport Beach police that six vials of Demerol worth $3,000 were stolen from the garage, the accusation says.

One of the seven patients mentioned in the accusation, Greg Farowich, 47, of Las Vegas, filed a lawsuit against Abram in 1993 alleging medical malpractice in connection with damage he suffered to his nose during surgery. The suit is still pending.

Bouvier and Abram have sued Farowich for slander and libel for comments attributed to him in a published newspaper account about that case. Farowich has filed a legal document denying the allegations.

According to the accusation, Bouvier introduced herself as a plastic surgeon when she met Farowich in Las Vegas in 1992. He paid her $40,000 for procedures performed by Abram “and possibly Bouvier,” including the reshaping of his nose, according to the accusation.

Later, “Bouvier took care of (Farowich) at a motel after the surgery, changed his dressings, removed the sutures, and restitched an area behind his right ear,” the state contends in the documents.

Farowich said in an interview Wednesday that the information about him in the accusation is accurate. He also said that he was not sure if Bouvier assisted with his surgery because he was unconscious at the time.

But Rafferty, the couple’s attorney, said that “if (a section of the accusation) involves Farowich, I know (the information) is false.”