Former UCI Student Accused Of Impersonating A Doctor

 ORANGE (CBSLA) -- A former UCI student is accused of impersonating a doctor, authorities said.

Ariya Ouskouian, 23, of Irvine was charged Tuesday with providing medical diagnosis while impersonating a medical doctor.

Officials said Ouskouian gave medical advice to a patient complaining about a growth on his neck in a consult room at the University of California, Irvine this past May.

Authorities believe Ouskouian pretended to be a doctor on at least seven occasions at Children's Hospital of Orange (CHOC) between April 23 and June 4 of this year.

Ouskouian allegedly tried to pass himself off as a doctor to CHOC security personnel and in doing so gained access to restricted floors of the hospital.

Officials said on each occasion, Ouskouian would claim he lost his security badge and then request a temporary one.

KCAL9's Stacey Butler reports that after hospital staff became suspicious of Ouskouian, he gave them a false name of a staff member.

He was arrested Tuesday.

CHOC referred the case to the Orange Police Department (OPD), who investigated this case.

The hospital released a statement Wednesday saying they immediately contacted law enforcement and alerted other area hospitals. They also said they have no reason to believe the suspect had any contact with patients or their records.