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D.A. investigating fake doctor who gave Philly students physicals

Who is V. Renita Bey and how was she able to pass herself off as a doctor, gain access to Philadelphia high school students and perform physical exams on them?

Who is V. Renita Bey and how was she able to pass herself off as a doctor, gain access to Philadelphia high school students and perform physical exams on them?

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office has launched an investigation into Bey's actions more than six months after she performed those exams on an unknown number of student athletes at George Washington High School in the Northeast.

Kathleen E. Martin, the office's chief of staff and chief integrity officer, confirmed the existence of the investigation Friday but declined to comment further.

A spokesman for the School District of Philadelphia on Friday said that while it has been determined that Bey lacked a valid license to practice medicine, it's not clear how she gained access to students.

"To make a long story short, we found out about this from one of our schools and took immediate action to rectify it," spokesman H. Lee Whack said.

Bey performed exams on students in June, charging them $20 each, according to published reports. It wasn't until December that school district officials were notified, said Whack, who could not say how many students were examined.

Whack also could not say if Bey examined students from schools other than George Washington nor if the Washington students were examined on school property or elsewhere.

He said Bey did not have a contract with the school district and he did not know how students were referred to her.

"I know this person gave physicals to students, but it may not have happened at school. Some physicals could have happened at community centers," Whack said.

"How does something like that happen with all the red tape and everything to get approved?" a distraught Washington parent asked in a Fox29 report.

Whack released the following statement Friday:

"Once this fraud was discovered we took immediate action and contacted parents. We reported to the District Attorney, the Inspector General's Office and the Pennsylvania Department of State's Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation.

"The School District has also put in place added protocols and procedures to ensure nothing like this happens in the future. The School District of Philadelphia works closely with the Athlete Health Organization every year to make sure thousands of students get proper physicals. The district made every effort to assist student athletes affected by this fraud, including working with the Temple University Athletic Training Program to provide physicals for our students, and all student athletes have the proper physicals now."

deanm@phillynews.com

215-854-4172 @mensahdean