About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2024)
Gainesville attorney inducted to prestigious family law group. INSIDE, 3A Thursday, February8,20241 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com Special election date set for Gainesville council seat. INSIDE, 3A Honestly Local Gainesville doctor accused of running pill mill BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville doctor prescribed “excessive amounts of controlled substances in dangerous combinations” through clinics in Roswell and Buford, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Isaac Sved, 65, was arraigned on charges including maintaining a premises for drug trafficking, money laundering, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and other counts in a Jan. 9 federal indictment. These documents were not publicly available for The Times' review as of Wednesday, Feb. 7. According to the Georgia Composite Medical Board, Sved's medical license expired Nov. 30. “Regrettably, the opioid epidemic has at times been fueled by physicians who abused their positions of trust in illegally prescribing excessive amounts of narcotics,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a news release Wednesday. “Those who abuse the power of their medical profession to unlawfully profit must face the consequences of their actions.” The U.S. Attorney's Office said Sved operated FamCare in Roswell and Valere Medical PC in Buford, acting as the sole prescribing physician. “The indictment alleges that patients received minimal or non existent medical examinations, evaluation, or testing prior to Sved prescribing them controlled substances such as oxycodone, alprazolam, and carisoprodol,” according to the news release. “The indictment further alleges that Sved falsified patient files to make it appear that the patient had been evaluated on certain dates when, in fact, the patient was not even present at the clinics.” The U.S. Attorney's Office also accused Sved of receiving large sums of cash from co-conspirator Bobby Lamar Mosley, Sr., 60, of Buford, “who obtained prescriptions for controlled substances from Sved in the names of purported patients, some of whom were never examined.” “Sved and his associates also allegedly hired security guards armed with firearms to patrol and protect the clinic as part of the illegal operation,” according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Also indicted were Dikla Rosh, 45, of Dun woody, who managed FamCare, as well as Lucciano Lopez, 27, of Sandy Springs, who worked as a medical assistant. Plea deal denied for ‘psychic healer’ Man accused of bilking people for more than $85K Scott Rogers The Times Jackson Ramirez-Reyes attends a plea-hearing Wednesday, Feb. 7, after being charged with six counts of theft by deception and two counts of terroristic threats and acts. Reyes, who described himself as a psychic healer, bilked a couple of more than $70,000 and made threats about the victims’ family to get them to pay up, police said. BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Superior Court judge rejected the proposed plea deal Wednesday, Feb. 7, for a “psychic healer” accused of bilking more than $85,000 from people through threats about their family members dying of cancer. Jackson William Ramirez-Reyes of Braselton appeared before Judge Lindsay Burton with his attorney, Arturo Corso, and an interpreter. Ramirez- Reyes has three theft by deception cases filed against him, two of which concern roughly $8,000 each and a third involving more than $70,000. All three cases surrounded Ramirez- Reyes' practice as a psychic healer. “He informed these people that either they or their relatives were developing some sort of cancer internally,” Assistant District Attorney Patrick Shuler said. "... He warns them that the new cancer that's developing could be fatal and that he could resolve that issue for them with payment and with, I guess, what he would have recommended as treatment. I know in a couple of the cases it's discussed that he recommends they drink milk of (magnesia) or obtain certain oils or other things to come back to have him resolve the cancer issue.” Ramirez-Reyes was originally arrested by Gainesville Police in October 2022 when he was accused of threatening people “with his psychic and/or healing powers” when confronted about the alleged scam, Lt. Kevin Holbrook previously told The Times. The family involved in the $70,000 case spoke to The Times about seeing Ramirez-Reyes because they were worried for their son. The warrants stated that the couple gave money on six occasions totaling $70,398 between Sept. 21 and Oct. 8, feeling afraid that they would die if they did not comply with the healer's instructions. “They were so intimidated and fearful that that's how they would continuously go back and get all the money that they had in the bank,” a family interpreter told The Times. In another casve, Ramirez-Reyes was accused of taking $8,000 from a woman “by threatening the death of her family if she did not pay (Ramirez-Reyes) to protect her and her family from evil,” according to the accusation. The final case, which was fded Jan. 30, accused Ramirez-Reyes of taking $8,040 from a woman “by threatening the death of her daughter if she did not pay (Ramirez-Reyes) to protect her daughter from cancer,” according to court documents. Shuler noted that Ramirez-Reyes has no prior criminal history. The negotiated plea would have been three years on probation and restitution only returning some of the money to the alleged victims. The $8,000 cases would see half of the money returned, and $20,000 would be paid in the largest case. “My goal in these cases was to get as much money as quickly as I could to reimburse the victims,” Shuler said. Shuler said they have been unable to reach all of the victims concerning the negotiated plea. The victim they have heard back from, Shuler said, “fears some form of psychic retaliation.” At the core of the theft by deception case, the prosecution “would have to prove that Mr. Ramirez- Reyes is not, in fact, a psychic healer,” Shuler said. “Now that's really the smaller issue,” the assistant district attorney said. “I think the larger issue with these cases is a jury's take on how much willing involvement the victims do in this case.” The prosecutor pointed out how none of them went for a traditional medical evaluation or second opinion, instead continuing with Ramirez-Reyes' advice. “I do have serious See Psychic 13A Micro condos proposed near downtown Gainesville BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com A “micro-housing development” of 11 condominiums is proposed near downtown Gainesville. ‘Micro homes are the ‘next step up' from tiny houses,” according to a project Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board What: Proposed 11- unit “micro-housing” development When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 Where: Public Safety Complex, 701 Queen City Parkway description in Gaines ville planning docu ments. “They range from 400 to approxi mately 800 square feet and must encompass an independent kitchen, bathroom and at least one window.” The homes can be “modular, prefabricated or custom builds, and use materials and finishes compa rable to traditional homes.” GVL Village at 521 Washington St., across from St. Paul United Methodist Church, would feature one- and two-bedroom homes and a “central street” with homes on either side. “Homes will have a fenced outdoor area at the rear, and parking will be accomplished on the side of the home with a (parking area),” according to the project description. Development amenities include a mail kiosk and a small community lawn and fire pit, according to city documents. The 1-acre development “will meet a growing and unfulfilled need for obtainable housing, located in an urban setting and within walking distance of the down town district,” the project description states. All common area maintenance would be covered by a condominium owners association, ensuring “that the project will retain its quality and value for years to come,” the document states. “We're still working on the design, so many of the specifics regarding the unit sizes, timeline, and pricing are still unknown,” said Brian Odom of Greenville, S.C.- based Raven Residential Group, which is seeking to build the development. The minimum condominium size will be 500 square feet, city documents state. The property now has a vacant rental home that would be tom down, according to the city. Raven is set to ask the Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board on Tuesday, Feb. 13, for a special use per mit to build the housing. The developer also is seeking a variance to be able to reduce the front yard setback. An 11-unit, “micro housing” develop ment is proposed near down town Gainesville. Artist’s rendering Active adult community coming near Gainesville Middle BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Gainesville City Council approved 229 single-family homes for active adults 55 and older Tuesday, Feb. 6. For decades, a conference cen ter and “scientific retreat com plex” had been planned at the 121-acre site off McEver Road and Lake Lanier. National developer David Weekley Homes had then pro posed 507 homes on the site at 1300 Gould Drive, off Waters Edge Drive near the Gainesville Middle School West Campus. The project was scaled down to 229 single-family units late last year. Access to the development would be from McEver Road. Representatives of Miles Hansford LLC, a law firm rep resenting Weekley, reiterated to council members at Tuesday's meeting that the new develop ment will serve as much-needed housing for that age demographic in the area. The firm has maintained throughout the planning pro cess that the development will have “little impact on school attendance, as most age-targeted units will not house school-age children,” and that “residents of age-targeted housing also tend to drive less — and when they do, they drive during off-peak hours, thereby lessening the impact on community traffic.” Amenities in the community include clubhouses, resort-style swimming pool, lawns, pocket parks, pickleball courts and boat storage. The development could take around five years to complete.
