A cardiologist arrested for child prostitution has surrendered his license to practice medicine in Kentucky.
Yogesh Patel has reached an agreement with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure (KBML) to conclude an ongoing investigation without a hearing, according to an order the board released Monday.
Patel, an interventional cardiologist, listed Brighton, Col., as his place of residence. He had been licensed in Kentucky since September 2019 and said he planned to practice in Kentucky this year, according to the board.
In a January application to renew his license in Kentucky, Patel said he had not been the subject of a criminal investigation or charged with a crime since his last renewal.
However, regulators in Illinois, where Patel received his medical training, suspended his license in February based on allegations that he was arrested in Colorado in November 2023 for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl, according to the KBML order.
The Daily Sentinel newspaper in Grand Junction reported that Patel was one of 10 men arrested in a sting operation.
Police said Patel, who was 56 at the time, spoke with an undercover officer posing as a mother who was prostituting her daughter, the report said.
According to the report, Patel arranged to pay $300 for an hour of sex with the teen.
Police arrested Patel after he arrived at a motel where the meeting was to take place.
The Mesa County Col., Sheriff’s Office said Patel was charged with solicitation of child prostitution and pandering to a child.
Patel surrendered his Illinois license but did not report that action to the Kentucky board as required, according to the KBML order.
The Kentucky board offered Patel the option to give up his license in lieu of issuing a complaint and an emergency suspension order against him, the document said.
Patel has neither admitted nor denied the criminal charges against him, but agreed to surrender his license to permanently practice medicine in Kentucky.
If the board learns of anything he does that would interfere with the practice of medicine in Kentucky, it will “aggressively” pursue criminal charges, according to the order.
