Chiropractic doctor Anthony Lefteris of Atlanta, Georgia, a certified Department of Transportation medical examiner, is being charged with falsifying documents and results related to medical examinations of commercial drivers.
As a result, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is notifying drivers who were given medical examinations by Lefteris that they have 30 days from the date of the letter sent to the driver to obtain a Medical Examiner’s Certificate from a medical examiner with valid certification on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. Lefteris, who operated from a Petro truckstop on Hollowell Parkway off of I-285 in Atlanta, was removed from that registry on Dec. 2.
It is estimated that more than 6,600 drivers are impacted. Drivers are from 48 states, although the vast bulk are from Georgia.
The U.S. DOT was tipped off to Lefteris’s conduct when it determined that he was conducting far more medical certification examinations than were reasonable. An undercover investigation conducted by the Georgia Department of Public Safety revealed that Lefteris was conducting incomplete examinations and falsifying the test results, including not conducting urinalysis, vision or hearing tests.
The investigation was conducted with three undercover agents posing as drivers in need of DOT Medical Examiner’s Certificates. In exchange for cash payments, Lefteris provided documents to the agents indicating that the proper medical examinations had been conducted when they had not. Lefteris then made false statements regarding the completion of the examinations and entered false documents and information into the driver records system.
Lefteris is officially being charged with making false statements and making a false entry in U.S. DOT records.
Drivers who do not obtain medical requalification within the 30-day time period will be medically disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce. Drivers and carriers with further questions should contact USDOT/FMCSA via email at FMCSAMedical@dot.gov or by calling 1-202-366-4001.
