Richmond-area oncologist accused of touching woman inappropriately under guise of ‘medical exam’
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A Richmond-area oncologist's medical license has been suspended following accusations that, under the guise of teaching her how to perform medical examinations, he inappropriately touched a woman he was supposed to be mentoring.
On March 20, the Virginia Board of Medicine suspended the license of Dr. Attique Samdani following multiple alleged violations of Virginia's Regulations Governing the Practice of Medicine.
Samdani is listed on HCA Virginia's website as a doctor affiliated with the Virginia Cancer Institute, Johnston-Willis Hospital and Chippenham Hospital. His specialties include hematology, or the study of the blood, and oncology, or the study of cancer. His medical license was first issued in 1998.
Samdani is accused by the board of "[making] inappropriate comments and touch[ing] intimate parts of [a woman's] body over her clothing against her will for his own sexual gratification," doing so "while acting as a professional mentor and/or under the guise of performing and/or teaching [her] how to perform medical examinations."
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The alleged incident took place in July 2024 and involved an unidentified woman referred to as "Individual 1," who traveled to America to participate in medical observerships with Samdani and other doctors after graduating from a medical school in Pakistan.
She first met Samdani on July 7, 2024, when her boyfriend -- referred to as "Physician A" -- brought her to the Midlothian area of Chesterfield County so she could be ready to meet Samdani at his oncology practice the next day.
Instead, Samdani reportedly insisted that they meet the same evening at his office. According to the board, the woman and her boyfriend met Samdani as asked, and he offered to drive the woman to her hotel so her boyfriend could begin the drive back home to Pennsylvania.
The board alleges that, on the way to the hotel, Samdani began making comments about how "cute" the woman was, and stated that she should not "tell [his] wife about anything."
Samdani helped the woman take her bags to her room and, according to the board, made another similar comment: "Don't tell my wife that I've brought you here." He also allegedly told the woman to "look at [his] biceps" and how "strong" they were.
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He is accused of then saying he wanted to check her height, grabbing her by her waist and saying she was "so short." After lying on her bed while she stood in the corner of the hotel room, Samdani reportedly offered to drive her to get food, saying he would drop her off afterwards. During the drive, he continued to make comments about his wife.
When they returned to the hotel, the board says Samdani went inside again rather than dropping the woman off as he said he would. He is then accused of coercing her into allowing him to "examine her lymph nodes" by saying he'd found cancer in another student by doing such an exam.
"These comments made Individual 1 very uncomfortable and, in response, she told Dr. Samdani that she could learn the next day while observing him with patients," the board said. "But Dr. Samdani ignored Individual 1's comments, got up and touched her neck."
He is then accused of telling her to lie down on the bed, which she did, "because she was scared of him." Samdani then touched her underarms and asked if she knew how to perform a breast exam.
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"Although she did not know how, Individual 1 said 'Yes' and covered her chest with her arms to protect herself," the board said. "But Dr. Samdani proceeded to touch her breasts over her clothing two or three times. Individual 1 told Dr. Samdani that she was uncomfortable multiple times, but he ignored her pleas and commented, 'It's okay,' and continued to touch her over her clothing."
This continued until Samdani "touched her pubic area over her clothing."
"Individual 1 was so upset, she quickly got up off the bed and went to the door," the board said. "In response, Dr. Samdani told her that he would meet her at 7 a.m. and would finish her exam the next day, then he left."
The woman immediately told her boyfriend, according to the board, and the two went to inform the police. As they left the police station, the boyfriend answered one of the many calls Samdani was making to the woman's phone and asked, "Why did you touch her?"
"In response, Dr. Samdani said, 'She didn't say anything. She didn't say she was uncomfortable. She was lying,'" the board said. "Dr. Samdani later said this was 'normal,' and offered to give them money."
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The boyfriend then told Samdani to apologize, at which point he allegedly admitted to what occurred. He then apologized, told the woman to "please relax," that she needed to "trust him" and said she was "getting it all wrong."
The woman then left Chesterfield to return to her boyfriend's home, rather than complete her medical observership. She then filed a police report.
The board alleges that Samdani made false statements to the Department of Health Professions (DHP) when they questioned him about the incident and other matters, such as how he conducts his medical observerships.
For example, Individual 1 was supposed to spend two days with him, then a few days each with two other doctors. Despite allegedly telling investigators that this had been the plan, text messages between Samdani and the woman indicate he had told her not to spend time with them at all.
He is also accused of lying about his first meeting with Individual 1, saying he never suggested meeting her at his office, as well as lying about the last time he spoke to her, saying their last contact was at the hotel.
A formal hearing will be held to review and potentially act upon this evidence. 8News is working to confirm the date and time when said hearing will take place.
This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.
