Ex-UCI Fertility Doctor Closes His Clinic : Scandal: Investigators fear that Dr. Jose Balmaceda’s closure of Laguna Hills facility means he won’t return to the U.S.

One of three doctors implicated in the UC Irvine fertility clinic scandal has closed his clinic at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, increasing concerns that he may not return to the United States to face the results of federal and state investigations.

Fertility expert Dr. Jose P. Balmaceda, who has been living in his native Chile since August, had the Saddleback facility closed and transferred control of the 2,000 frozen embryos stored there to a Newport Beach physician.

Balmaceda and the Saddleback center agreed to terminate the clinic’s lease Thursday. The doors will officially close Nov. 12, and the embryos will be transferred to the office of Dr. Robert E. Anderson at that time, said Jennifer Lefebrve, a Saddleback spokeswoman.

“Dr. Balmaceda has been unable to continue in the practice because of the difficulty raised by the confiscation of his records by the government,” said his attorney Patrick Moore, who confirmed last week that it was “very unlikely” the doctor would return to the clinic.

Moore said Balmaceda currently is at a conference outside of Chile. He said he did not know if Balmaceda is performing fertility procedures at a clinic he is associated with in Santiago, Chile.

In May, UCI accused Balmaceda, Drs. Ricardo H. Asch and Sergio C. Stone of stealing human eggs and embryos from some patients and giving them to others at the school’s now-closed Center for Reproductive Health. The doctors also are accused of financial wrongdoing, insurance fraud and research misconduct and face investigations by at least seven state and federal agencies.

The three doctors have repeatedly denied any intentional wrongdoing. Moore said Balmaceda is tending to his sick mother and has not set a date for his return.

But as Balmaceda continues to cut his ties to the United States, investigators fear that the renowned fertility expert, who sold his Corona del Mar home in July, may not be coming back, according to sources close to the probes.

Balmaceda formerly vowed to maintain the Saddleback clinic, where he spent most of his time. In July, he applied for a license from the state Department of Health Services to store the embryos and one tank of frozen sperm. He was given a restricted temporary permit to store the tissues until Oct. 28.

Balmaceda withdrew his application for the tissue license this month, and an arrangement was made to find a home for the embryos with Anderson, Lefebrve said. Anderson was out of the office and could not be reached for comment.

Moore said state officials “became concerned because [Balmaceda] was not on site five days a week to supervise things.”

Dr. Jane Frederick, a clinic employee, has been seeing both Balmaceda’s and her own patients in his absence, Moore said. Frederick will continue to see patients at the clinic until Nov. 12, Lefebrve said.

Patients who have embryos or sperm stored at the clinic will be notified and given the opportunity to transfer their tissue elsewhere, according to state officials.