Woman posed as therapist wife to counsel hundreds of patients for years
A woman who allegedly posed as her therapist wife counseled hundreds of patients online without any qualifications to do so, an investigation by officials in Florida found.
The woman — who has been identified as "TR" in court records — is reportedly married to Peggy Randolph, a licensed clinical social worker operating largely in Tennessee and Florida, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Randolph worked for Brightside Health, and allegedly helped her wife, "TR" impersonate her in online therapy sessions, according to the investigation and a settlement agreed to in Tennessee.
The women were accused of trying to double their potential earnings from therapy sessions; while Randolph, the actual therapist, was giving in-person sessions, her wife, TR, allegedly was posing as her and counseling clients online, CBS News reports.
The alleged fraud was first uncovered last year after TR died. A client who regularly had been speaking with TR began speaking with Randolph and realized something strange had happened.
An obituary for Randolph's wife names the woman as Tammy Heath-Randolph, which is consistent with the "TR" initials found in the Florida investigation documents.
Typically, practicing therapists are expected to have at least a master's degree. Randolph's wife did not have any credentials relating to counseling services, according to a settlement agreement between the woman who claims she was defrauded and the Tennessee Department of Health.
Randolph said she had no idea that her wife had been posing as her in counseling sessions.
"[Randolph] denies knowing that T.R. was using her Brightside Health Therapist Portal log-in credentials or treating clients under her account. However, [Randolph] received compensation for the sessions conducted," according to the Tennessee settlement agreement.
According to the Florida investigation, Brightside conducted its own internal inquiry and found that TR had been "seeing all of [Randolph's] patients and had been for a long time," dating back to at least January 2021.
The Independent has reached out to Randolph for comment.
After the alleged fraud came to light, Randolph surrendered her social worker credentials in both Tennessee and Florida, according to investigation documents.
A representative from Brightside told CBS News that the company began an internal audit and fired Randolph from its service as soon as the alleged fraud came to light. It also notified and refunded all patients who had been paying to see an unlicensed therapist.
"We take our patient experience seriously and hold ourselves to a high ethical code of conduct," Hannah Changi, a Brightsides spokesperson, told the broadcaster. "We're extremely disappointed that a single provider was willing to violate the trust that Brightside and, most importantly, her patients had placed in her."
