CARMEL RICKARD: SA doctor off the hook for ‘Ponzi scheme’ — for now

Suppose a doctor were to give financial advice to patients, suggesting that they invest in his company when he secretly knows it is in a parlous state. Would this be an infringement of the discipline, according to the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA)? A recent case suggests not. Dr David Grieve, whose "investment advice" to many patients caused them significant losses, has just won a case testing whether he could be disciplined by the HPCSA. He was to face a complaint of unprofessional conduct for bringing "the good name of his profession into disrepute" by persuading patients or former patients "to invest in a company in which he was a director while he knew … the company was in financial distress". Further, he is alleged to have transferred funds invested in his company into his private bank account, and "conducted himself in a manner that caused financial prejudice to his patients … in that they were made to deposit large sums of money into accounts of companies that were...