Plans for drug addiction center abandoned after partner accused of document forgery

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Two doctors who helped raise funding for a methadone clinic and treatment center in downtown Honolulu accused a business partner of using the money to purchase luxury items for herself instead.

Dr. William Forsythe, who lives in Washington State but is licensed to practice medicine in Hawaii, and Dr. Ronald Baird, a general practitioner from Utah, have successfully opened over 40 drug rehabilitation centers in 20 different states.

“But because of funding issues, no one in Hawaii was able to pull the trigger at the time,” Forsythe said.

Forsythe said they also need someone on the islands to do the groundwork, including obtaining approval from the state Department of Health and finding a location where there is a need for the services.

The doctors were introduced to Phyllis Rooney, a licensed mental health counselor from Honolulu.

The doctors co-signed a loan using their homes as collateral, allowing Rooney to obtain a bank loan of around $250,000.

The Department of Health also approved Rooney's certificate of need to open the methadone clinic and addiction center, which she named Drug, Alcohol, Mental Health Counseling and Evaluation Services, Inc. (DAMHCES), in May 2021 at the Fort Street Mall.

Forsythe said they were excited about the progress. “We jumped right in and thought this was going to be fantastic,” he said.

But after a few months the bills were no longer paid.

Forsythe said he first received letters from the bank and then from the clinic's landlord.

Baird said he feared losing his home when “the lender threatened foreclosure.”

Lending company BHG Financial filed a complaint with the Honolulu Police Department in December 2022, accusing Rooney of forgery.

HPD records show that police executed several search warrants for bank statements from Rooney's banks in Hawaii.

The detective found that Rooney's loan application “showed signs of possible alteration or misrepresentation.”

The bank required that she have at least $50,000 in her account to qualify for the loan. The detective wrote that Rooney actually had $1 in the account in December 2021, but the bank statement she provided to the bank “showed a balance of $150,001.00,” suggesting that she had inflated the amount to qualify for the loan.

The police report also accused Rooney of using the money not for the addiction center, but for “the purchase of motor vehicles, luxury homes, luxury vacations, and services such as private chefs and child care” instead of the center.

“We just thought, 'Oh my goodness, we got ripped off and we have to take responsibility for it,'” Forsythe said.

On February 6, 2024, HPD referred the forgery case to the Honolulu District Attorney's Office and recommended that charges be filed, but the District Attorney's Office declined to proceed.

In a statement, a spokesman for District Attorney Steve Alm said they “do not discuss matters that have not been charged” and that charges will only be filed if “the department believes guilt can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Forsythe and Baird said they were disappointed that no charges were filed and were still afraid the bank would take out a mortgage on their homes because the loan had not been repaid.

In Hawaii, the number of deaths from overdoses has steadily increased.

Doctors said there were not enough clinics to treat the addicts and they often ended up on waiting lists.

Baird said he was optimistic they could open the center during the pandemic. “I told them we're going to do it,” he said.

Forsythe said the need is evident across the country. “We've had a significant influx of people with addiction issues,” he said.

Forsythe and Baird said they hope Hawaii can open more rehabilitation centers for drug addicts, but are no longer willing to fund such efforts.

Hawaii News Now reached Rooney by phone. She said the money she took from the credit account was for her salary and that she had done nothing wrong. She declined to comment further on the allegations.

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