The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has published a compliance order banning registered psychologist Romeo Vitelli from conducting examinations, assessments and treatment plans under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule for 18 months. The regulator has also assessed an administrative penalty in the amount of $15,000 after Vitelli admitted he made misleading statements and representations to insurers to obtain payment for services provided to insured patients.
Specifically, Vitelli submitted 12 psychological evaluation reports and one catastrophic evaluation report to two insurers which contained quotes from patients that were not actually said by claimants. “The phrases were repeated in the 13 reports to varying degrees,” FSRA’s minutes of settlement states. Vitelli also submitted a treatment plan to an insurer suggesting that the claimant had been employed prior to the accident when the claimant was in fact retired.
Vitelli completed assessments between 2016 and 2019 on behalf of multiple health service providers, including Novo Medical Services Inc., a rehabilitation treatment provider for those who suffer motor vehicle accident injuries. “Novo Medical bills insurers under motor vehicle insurance policies for these services,” the minutes state. The reports in question were submitted between November 2017 and October 2018.
Vitelli was suspended by the College of Psychologists of Ontario for nine months, beginning April 25, 2023. His ban from conducting examinations and completing treatment and assessment plans for the purposes of insurance ends April 25, 2025.