Mahmood Kalbasy

CHARGES 

On April 11, 2019 - Mr. Kalbasy was charged with the following:

COUNT 1

Mahmood KALBASY

between the 17th day of May in the year 2018 and the 7th day of September in the year 2018 at the Town of Richmond Hill in the Regional Municipality Of York did, by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, defraud (an insurer) of money of a value not exceeding five thousand dollars, contrary to Section 380, subsection (1), clause (b) of the Criminal Code.

COUNT 2

AND FURTHER THAT

Mahmood KALBASY

between the 17th day of May in the year 2018 and the 7th day of September in the year 2018 at the Town of Richmond Hill in the Regional Municipality Of York did knowingly commit forgery by making false documents, namely invoices, with the intention that they should be used or acted upon as if they were genuine to the prejudice of other persons, contrary to Section 366(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.

COUNT 3

AND FURTHER THAT

Mahmood KALBASY

between the 17th day of May in the year 2018 and the 7th day of September in the year 2018 at the Town of Richmond Hill in the Regional Municipality Of York did, knowing documents, namely invoices, to be falsified, cause patients to use, deal with or act on them as if they were genuine, contrary to Section 368, subsection (1.1) of the Criminal Code.

COUNT 4

AND FURTHER THAT

Mahmood KALBASY

between the 17th day of May in the year 2018 and the 7th day of September in the year 2018 at the Town of Richmond Hill in the Regional Municipality Of York did possess property, namely invoices of a value not exceeding five thousand dollars, knowing that all or part of the said property had been obtained by an offence punishable by indictment, contrary to Section 354(1) of the Criminal Code.

FINDING

On December 15, 2020, Mahmood Kalbasy appeared in the Newmarket Courthouse in Newmarket, Ontario and plead guilty to one count of by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, defrauding (an insurer) of money of a value not exceeding five thousand dollars, contrary to Section 380, subsection (1), clause (b) of the Criminal Code.

Counts Two, Three and Four were withdrawn.  

The following Probation Order (Order) was made on December 15, 2019 and will be in place for a period of 18 months, Mahmood Kalbasy must: 

• Keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
• Appear before the court when required to do so by the court.
• Notify the court or the probation officer in advance of any change of name or address and promptly notify the court or the probation officer of any change in employment or occupation.
• Report by telephone to a probation officer immediately and after that, at all times and places as directed by the probation officer or any person authorized by a probation officer to assist in their supervision.
• Cooperate with their probation officer.
• Sign any releases necessary to permit the probation officer to monitor their compliance and provide proof of compliance with any condition of the Order to their probation officer on request.
• Attend and actively participate in all assessment, counselling or rehabilitative programs as directed by the probation officer and complete them to the satisfaction of the probation officer
• Sign any release of information forms as will enable their probation officer to monitor their attendance and completion of any assessments, counselling or rehabilitative programs as directed.
• Provide proof of your attendance and completion of any assessments, counselling or rehabilitative programs as directed.

This Order continues to apply whether they are in Canada or outside of Canada. This Order applies anywhere in the world. 

This Order is in force at all times and must be obeyed unless a sentence of imprisonment makes it impossible to comply for the time being with the Order.

Mahmood Kalbasy 
Registration Number #10692
Case Number: 2019-0036 & 2019-0132

On June 3, 2021, the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) referred a matter involving Mahmood Kalbasy to the Discipline Committee for a hearing. 

The hearing took place on March 8, 2022. This matter was resolved by way of an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Penalty. 

The panel of the Discipline Committee issued a decision on the finding on March 8, 2022, on the penalty on March 8, 2022 and on costs on March 8, 2022. 

After having considered all of the evidence, the panel found Mahmood Kalbasy to have committed the following acts of professional misconduct:

• paragraph 1 (failing to maintain the standards of practice of the profession);
• paragraph 15 (contravening a federal, provincial or territorial law relevant to the member’s suitability to practice);
• paragraph 18 (engaging in conduct or performing an act relevant to the practice of the profession that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional);
• paragraph 26 (failing to keep records in accordance with the standards of practice of the profession);
• paragraph 27 (falsifying a record);
• paragraph 28 (signing or issuing a document containing a statement that the member knows or ought to know contains a false or misleading statement);
• paragraph 32 (submitting an account or charge for services that the member knows or ought to know is false or misleading); 
• paragraph 33 (failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that any accounts submitted in the member’s name or billing number are fair and accurate);
• paragraph 40 (continuing the treatment of a patient where it is no longer indicated, has ceased to be effective or is unnecessary).

The panel ordered the following penalty, Mahmood Kalbasy will:

• Receive a reprimand at the conclusion of the hearing (delivered on March 8, 2022)
• Serve a suspension for a period of seven months, the first two months with be served from March 31, 2022 up to and including May 30, 2022. The remaining five months will be served as directed by the Registrar
• Complete a review of tools, standards and resources
• Successfully complete (receive an unconditional pass) the ProBE program
• Meet with a practice coach for a maximum of eight occasions within a two-year period
• Not practice as a physiotherapist assistant (PTA) during the periods of suspension

While Mahmood Kalbasy is serving their suspension they shall not use the title Physiotherapist, PT or any abbreviation thereof. Their name, PT title and/or registration number cannot be used for billing purposes during the suspension periods.

The panel also ordered Mahmood Kalbasy to pay costs to the College in the amount of $5, 000 to offset some of the costs associated with investigating and prosecuting this case.

As a part of the penalty the Committee also issued a reprimand which read as follows:

Mr. Kalbasy you have been found to be in violation of the college standards. Your actions have been described as insurance fraud in this hearing. Had it not been a joint submission by you and the College, this panel would have imposed a much stricter penalty.

Your conduct is despicable and jeopardizes the future relationship between the physiotherapy profession and insurers. It undermines the integrity and brings disrepute to the profession. The College has a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate billing practices and we hope that the profession in general takes note of the serious penalties that have been imposed.  The Panel is troubled by your lack of appropriate record keeping and the implication that has regarding the quality of care provided. We expect that when you resume your practice you will strictly adhere to all of the Standards of the profession.

We do wish to acknowledge your cooperation with the College, the unfortunate circumstances in your personal life, and that you have no prior history with the College. We expect you to  put your full efforts into completing the rehabilitative portions of this penalty. 

We do not expect to see you appear before a panel of this College again.  And, I’m sure you will understand that, should you reappear for similar conduct, the consequences will be most serious.

You can read the full decision of the Discipline Committee of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario at: www.canlii.ca

STATUS:
Mahmood Kalbasy is working on completing the following requirements of the order:

• The suspension
• Completing a review of tools, standards and resources
• Successfully completing the PROBE program
• Meetings with a practice coach