BY ASHLEY GEELAN at the HEIDELBERG MAGISTRATES’ COURT
A fake doctor who prescribed a vulnerable patient unlabelled vitamins for a hormonal imbalance has escaped conviction.
Keti “Kate” Cvetkov, 48, was today (Thursday, August 8) fined $10,000 in Courtroom six of the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to knowingly or recklessly claiming to be a registered health practitioner.
Cvetkov was also reprimanded for texting on her phone whilst presiding Magistrate John Bentley was considering sentencing options as the matter concluded.
Cvetkov has never been a medical doctor but claimed to be one specialising in hormonal therapy when she met the victim at an airport in 2018.
The woman contacted Cvetkov for help in January 2021 after she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and a hormonal imbalance.
She requested an appointment at Cvetkov’s clinic but the fake doctor instead offered a phone consultation at a discounted rate, claiming the clinic was too busy.
The victim had three phone consultations with Cvetkov, who diagnosed her with chronic nutritional deficiencies and provided her with what she said was progesterone and other unlabelled tablets.
The woman began taking the medication in March 2021 and initially felt like her symptoms improved but she began suffering pain and hot flushes.
After eight weeks, her symptoms progressed to debilitating muscle pain.
At an April 9 phone consultation, Cvetkov advised the woman to stop taking the medication as she needed to reset her hormones.
The woman asked for more information about the supplements and an invoice for the $1560 bill but her requests were ignored.
The victim complained to the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) on April 18 and the regulator issued a cease and desist letter to Cvetkov.
She ignored the letter and refused an interview. She pleaded guilty to the offending at the Heidelberg Magistrates Court today.
Her lawyer told the court Cvetkov had been a qualified naturopath and it was common practice for naturopaths to refer to themselves as doctors.
Cvetkov had no intention to mislead the victim and the medications she provided were only over-the-counter vitamins like amino acids and fish oil, her lawyer said.
The lawyer submitted that a fine without conviction was within range as Cvetkov had “suffered extra punishment from the media attention” – four journalists were present in the courtroom – and she was the sole parent to two young children.
“Do I convict or not is what I’m considering,” Magistrate Bentley stated. Cvetkov did not want to work as a naturopath again but a conviction would limit her ability to get other employment, the lawyer said.
Magistrate Bentley said it was clear Cvetkov had misled and taken advantage of the victim when she was in a vulnerable state.
But he accepted Cvetkov’s early guilty plea, remorse, her previously clean criminal record and personal circumstances as a sole carer of two young children.
Cvetkov was fined $10,000 without conviction and also ordered to pay AHPRA’s $10,000 legal costs with Magistrate Bentley agreeing to a payment plan of $500 per month.
