OVIEDO, Fla. — Complaints continue to roll in about a local medical office that suddenly closed its doors and left patients hanging. Action 9 has investigated, Dr. Robert Abraham, the doctor who ran the facility, in the past.
86-year-old Yolanda Choser showed the Action 9 team the at-home treatments she was prescribed by Exodus Medical in Oviedo.
“You wrap (this) around your leg and the lasers come on,” she said as she gave a demonstration of a wrap with small infrared lights on it.
They are supposed to help with her neuropathy that could result in losing feeling in her legs and feet.
She told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal she didn’t know if the treatments helped and wondered if they are a sham. She last went to Exodus Medical for in-person treatment in September, then she stopped hearing from the office.
Jeff Deal asked, “Did they give you any kind of notice that they were closing?”
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Choser replied, “No. That bothered me.”
She went to the clinic only to find it closed up-no one around. Choser said she’d already paid more than $4000 upfront and was making monthly payments that were automatically taken from her account.
“Up to last month, it was $309 and change,” she said.
That meant an additional $2700 was taken over a nine-month span even after her last appointment. Her daughter just recently helped her stop those automatic withdrawals.
Action 9 first launched a handful of investigations into Exodus Medical starting in 2021.
“You know they suckered me in,” said Richard Kaminski in 2022. He complained then after he had trouble trying to cancel a $20,000 medical loan for Exodus Medical treatments.
Since then, the state health department filed a complaint against clinic owner and licensed chiropractor, Dr. Robert Abraham, alleging several violations when dealing with an 87-year-old patient.
The alleged violations included prescribing medical oxygen and accepting advance payment of more than $1500, both of which chiropractors are not authorized to do.
Dr. Abraham didn’t deny the allegations and agreed to a settlement with the state that included a fine.
He also reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by a local couple, who paid $16,000 upfront. The lawsuit referred to the care as “pseudo-scientific, sham treatments.”
Last month another patient, Albert Brien, told Action 9 he’s frustrated since he also paid $16,000 upfront and received no notice the clinic was closing.
Brien said, “Well, I tell you what, I never thought the doctor would do that to somebody. You know?”
The Florida Attorney General’s office has received five recent complaints against Dr. Abraham, including Albert Brien’s complaint.
Patients like Yolanda Choser hope Dr. Abraham and Exodus Medical will be held accountable.
Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal asked her, “Do you feel like they were just taking advantage of you?”
Choser said, “It appears that way.”
Dr. Abraham has not responded to answer any of our questions about closing or refunding patients.
Action 9 has asked the Florida Department of Health if it has launched another investigation into Dr. Abraham since the office closed. As of now, it has not confirmed that. Under Florida law, complaints made against doctors with the health department are not public record until ten days after an administrative complaint has been filed.
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