A former Queens urgent care doctor was sentenced Wednesday to probation after admitting to sexually abusing multiple patients over several years.
Amir Sitafalwalla, 74, was sentenced in Queens County Criminal Court to six years of probation. He must surrender his medical license and register as a level 2 sex offender.
What You Need To Know
Amir Sitafalwalla was sentenced to six years of probation and must surrender his medical license
He pleaded guilty to five counts of forcible touching and one count of sexual abuse
Five male victims came forward, including one who was a minor
Victims’ attorneys are suing ModernMD, alleging the clinic failed to investigate his background
Attorneys for two of the victims criticized the sentence, arguing it failed to reflect the lasting harm caused by the abuse.
“It has destroyed them. My clients are very wary of going to medical professionals for treatment,” said Hardeep Shergill, an attorney for two of the victims.
Sitafalwalla pleaded guilty in October to five counts of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse. The offenses date back to 2017, according to court records.
Five male victims came forward, including one who was a minor at the time of the abuse.
Shergill said his clients were relieved by the court’s decision to classify Sitafalwalla as a level 2 sex offender but disappointed by the probation sentence.
“They are satisfied that they were able to get level 2 sex offender status. They are not as satisfied with the six years probation. Of course, for their outcome, their outlook, this is an offense that never should’ve occurred,” Shergill said.
According to attorneys for the victims, Sitafalwalla was fired from a CityMD location in Bayside in April 2021 after complaints of sexual abuse.
They say he went on to work at a ModernMD urgent care in Woodhaven a few months later, where the abuse continued.
Sitafalwalla was first arrested in March 2023 but was allowed to return to work at ModernMD. He was arrested again in September 2024, after additional allegations surfaced.
“They are young men who went to the doctors to be treated. They obviously never expected to be sexually assaulted in this way. No patient should ever be treated in the way they were treated. They have been irreparably harmed due to the assault that they suffered and the abuse,” Shergill said.
Shergill said urgent care providers should have been aware of Sitafalwalla’s history before hiring him.
“He already had this history of violating patients, assaulting patients, of having victims and this is something that they should’ve investigated, should’ve known and should’ve never hired Dr. Sitafalwalla to allow him access to these young men,” Shergill said.
Attorneys for two of the victims are pursuing a civil lawsuit against ModernMD, alleging the company failed to properly investigate Sitafalwalla’s background.
A spokesperson for ModernMD said the company cooperated with authorities and that patient safety is its top priority.