Truckers came by the thousands from all across the country, pulling into into the Petro Stopping Center, a 24-hour truck stop off Interstate 285 in Atlanta, where they could find coffee and CB radios, tires and a tattoo shop, and a chiropractor, known as “Dr. Tony.” Dr. Anthony Lefteris got federally certified in 2014 to conduct the DOT medical exams that truckers must pass to get their commercial driver’s license (CDL). Lefteris is alleged to have completed nearly as many exams in an hour as a typical federally certified examiner did in a month. In less than three years, he issued more than 6,500 certificates of good health to truckers from 43 states! But they appear to have been falsified.
An anonymous tip from a trucker led to Lefteris’s arrest in December and he now faces criminal charges of falsifying documents filed with a federal agency. All his bogus DOT cards have been revoked by FMCSA, and this could have repercussions throughout the industry, as those drivers may have been operating commercial vehicles illegally.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Issued the Following Public Notice December 28, 2016:
On December 1, 2016, a Criminal Complaint in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, was issued against Anthony Lefteris, Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.), National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (“National Registry”) No. 8343724872, of Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Lefteris was charged with Making False Statements, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. § 1001; and Making a False Entry in U.S. Department of Transportation’s Records with the Intent to Impede and Influence the Proper Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. § 1519.
The investigation initiated by the U.S. Department of Transportation determined that while listed as a Certified Medical Examiner on the National Registry, Dr. Lefteris conducted a number of medical certification examinations that far exceeded a reasonable number of examinations. An undercover investigation conducted by the Georgia Department of Public Safety revealed that the purported medical examinations conducted by Dr. Lefteris at a truck stop in Atlanta, Georgia, exhibited a pattern whereby the examination was incomplete, required tests were not performed and information on the medical examination form was falsified.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) removed Dr. Lefteris from the National Registry on December 2, 2016.
USDOT/FMCSA intends to revoke all certificates issued by Dr. Lefteris to commercial motor vehicle operators within the past two years.
FMCSA offices nationwide are presently working with State Driver’s Licensing Agencies to obtain the contact information for all affected drivers. FMCSA is contacting these drivers and informing them that they have THIRTY DAYS to obtain a Medical Examiner’s Certificate from a Medical Examiner with valid certification on the National Registry.
Drivers and carriers with further questions should contact USDOT/FMCSA via email at FMCSAMedical@dot.gov