RCMP issue arrest warrant for BC man who allegedly provided 'medical assessments' with no credentials

An arrest warrant has been issued for a British Columbia man who allegedly provided "medical assessments" despite lacking the proper qualifications to do so.

Xander Phoenix has been charged with one count of forgery and one count of causing someone to use a forged document.

In a press release, the Kelowna RCMP explained that "these charges, in short, stem from a fraud investigation into Phoenix providing specific medical assessments to clients in Kelowna, allegedly without the appropriate credentials as a psychologist."

They detachment urged him to turn himself in and "rectify" the situation.

Phoenix's attempts to appear more qualified than he actually is date back to 2021.

"Be advised that Xander Patrice Phoenix (also known as 'Dr. Pat') of the Omega Health Clinic in Burnaby, BC (formerly the Phoenix Centre for Mental Health) is not and has never been registered to practise as a psychologist in British Columbia," the Board of the College of Psychologists of BC wrote in a public memo at the time.

They noted that he had "no other association with the College of Psychologists of BC."

Drs. Harry Stefanakis and Catherine Currell both made it clear they had "never acted as Mr. Phoenix's supervisor, signed any reports of Mr. Phoenix, or been associated in any other capacity with Mr. Phoenix or with the Phoenix Centre for Mental Health or Omega Health Clinic."

According to the CBC, Phoenix was working as a therapist in 2019 when he received a complaint of sexual misconduct after allegedly getting intimate with a female patient. He ended up losing his job, and was barred from obtaining a psychology licence in BC. Since therapy and counselling aren't regulated in the province, he was able to continue doing that.