Chantelle Lavergne Woods, 54, of Nipomo, in San Luis Obispo County, pleaded guilty to one count of presentation of false immigration document or application and one count of possession with intent to distribute phendimetrazine, a weight-loss drug, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
Federal prosecutors claim Woods operated and managed the “Medical Weight Loss and Immigration Services” clinic in Arroyo Grande, on the coast about 175 miles north of Los Angeles.
Starting in February 2021, Woods knowingly misused the identities of three physicians to create hundreds of fake documents used by immigrants to obtain “green cards” as lawful permanent residents, or to adjust their immigration statuses.
Federal law requires that a green card applicant submit proof of a medical examination and a vaccination record to determine if he or she is inadmissible on health-related grounds, the statement said.
Prosecutors said Woods completed at least 328 federal forms saying doctors had performed the required examinations, falsely including the signatures of doctors, “thereby representing that the individual had been medically examined by a doctor, when in fact they had not.”
“Woods acted without physician authorization, and the clinic did not provide legitimate medical services,” according to prosecutors.
As part of the plea agreement, Woods also admitted that she used the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number of a physician who died in 2021 to order more than 150,000 tablets of controlled substances, including testosterone, codeine, Xanax, diethylpropion, and phentermine.
“In July 2022, at the clinic, Woods knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute phendimetrazine—a weight-loss drug—as well as a loaded firearm,” the statement said.
The label on the bottle of alprazolam indicated that it had been dispensed by a doctor at the clinic owned and operated by Woods. The probationer described the clinic as a “pill mill,” according to investigators.
During that same month, a sheriff’s deputy stopped a driver who said he had an appointment at the clinic to apply for a green card, the complaint revealed. The driver allegedly told the deputy he paid $450 to the clinic. When the deputy checked the clinic, there was no doctor onsite, according to the complaint.
An undercover DEA agent visited the clinic on Dec. 9, 2021, and was able to buy a controlled weight-loss drug for $200 without a doctor’s examination, investigators reported. Later that month, undercover officers also purchased the drug and said they witnessed three people sign immigration paperwork.
Woods allegedly maintained a website that advertised a clinic that helped applicants with immigration physicals.
The website listed one doctor as a board-certified neurologist and designated civil surgeon for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, but the doctor was a pediatrician and not a neurologist, according to federal prosecutors.
Woods officially filed for a business name with San Luis Obispo County in 2019 and signed an agreement with a merchant processing company in 2021 to start accepting payments from customers, according to court documents.
Investigators alleged the clinic processed 1,047 sales from June 2021 to March 2022, resulting in payments reaching nearly $290,000.
Woods is free on a $10,000 bond while she awaits sentencing by U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin, set for July 31.
She faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for each count.
Woods refused to speak with The Epoch Times when contacted Tuesday about the plea deal.
