The CA Department of Consumer Affairs, based in Sacramento, California, oversees many of California’s professional licensing agencies and boards, including, but not limited to, those in the health care field such as doctors, nurses, physical therapists, dentists, etc…

The Department of Consumer Affairs will initiate an investigation if they receive information that a licensee has committed a crime, engaged in dishonest or unprofessional conduct, fraud, and/or engaged in billing irregularities. When the DCA receives such information and believes the information warrants a more formal investigation, the matter may be assigned to one of its many investigators located throughout California. Those investigators will then contact the licensee and attempt to arrange for an in-person interview. If you are contacted by an investigator with the Department of Consumer Affairs, it is vital that you contact an experienced professional license defense attorney like Jonathan Turner immediately.

Consulting with an administrative law attorney prior to doing one of these interviews is a must. The reasons are numerous. First, these interviews may be to investigate an alleged crime. If the investigator believes a crime has been committed, they will forward their final report to the CA Attorney General’s Office’s criminal or fraud division. However, people alleged to have committed crimes have a right not to talk and this right should be preserved prior to the licensee engaging in the interview with the DCA investigator. It is also possible that the investigator is not investigating a crime per se but rather conduct that may warrant the discipline, such as revocation, suspension or denial, of the professional license. If this is the case, the investigator forwards his or her report to the attorney general and/or the licensing board for the bringing of disciplinary charges in the form of an Accusation or Statement of Issues.

In short, a lot is at stake when a DCA investigator gets involved in your matter. By contacting an experienced nursing license defense attorney like Jonathan Turner, you can better determine whether engaging in the interview is a good idea at all. If doing the interview is determined to be in the licensee’s best interest, it is important to then have the license defense attorney prepare you for the interview and accompany you to the interview.

If you have a professional license or are applying for a professional license, and the Department of Consumer Affairs is investigating you, contact Sacramento, California professional license defense attorney Jonathan Turner for a free consultation.