Former Harvard Professor Charged With Embezzlement

Donald R. Kirks, former chief of the radiology department at Children's Hospital and former Harvard Medical School (HMS) professor, was formally charged by the U.S Attorney's office on Monday for embezzling more than $70,000 from the Children's Hospital Radiology Foundation while he was its president.

If convicted, Kirks could face up to five years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines.

The foundation is a nonprofit group of doctors who practice at the hospital.

Kirks, a pediatric radiologist and former Kirkpatrick professor of radiology at HMS, once was frequently asked to speak at conventions and universities around the world.

He was forced to resign from his position at Children's Hospital--an affiliated hospital of HMS--in February 1998 when the foundation's board of directors charged that since January 1995, he had been wrongfully "double-billing" both the foundation and his hosts for travel expenses to speaking engagements in places including Bombay, Maui, Vienna and Versailles.

Kirks is further charged with double billing a $4,000 computer to both the foundation and the Radiological Society of North America, amassing a total of $64,000 in excess billing.

Kirks is currently practicing at San Antonio Children's Hospital.

According to a statement from Children's Hospital, "This is a criminal matter between Dr. Kirks and the federal government. When Dr. Kirks' misappropriations were discovered, Children's Hospital and the radiology Foundation reported it to the appropriate authorities, with whom we have cooperated."

"Dr. Kirks no longer has any relationship with the hospital, the radiology group, or Harvard Medical School," the statement said.

In addition to double billing, Kirks is charged in a 10-page report by the U.S. Attorney with charging $3,980 in personal expenses to the Foundation's American Express card and reselling $2,660 worth of foundation-owned Boston Bruins tickets for his own profit.

"He plans to plea guilty," said Stephen S. Rosenfeld, Kirks' attorney.

Kirks has reimbursed the foundation since his resignation, and in a Boston Globe article, Rosenfeld expressed his disappointment that the U.S. Attorney is persisting in charging Kirks. Rosenfeld said there is no court date scheduled as of yet.

HMS Dean Joseph B. Martin and HMS associate deans were unavailable to comment for this story.