ANUG’s Chairman Mark DeFrance was suspended from medical practice for forgery

A newly surfaced document has confirmed that Dr Mark DeFrance, Chairman of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), was suspended from practising medicine for two years after forging records, including the signatures of his supervisors.

The document — an Institutional Registration Workbook seen by the News Room over the weekend — shows that Dr DeFrance falsified his rotation time and forged the signatures of several supervisors. The paperwork is stamped by the Industry Health Centre and details the fraudulent entries that led to his suspension.

In December 2024, Dr DeFrance publicly admitted to what he vaguely described as “misconduct” during a party press conference but stopped short of revealing the full story behind his suspension.

“That is what I am saying. It was misconduct,” he told reporters when pressed on whether he had been found guilty of medical malpractice in 2016. He confirmed the matter went before the Medical Council and was heard by Justice Jo Ann Barlow, resulting in his ban from 2016 to 2018.

At the time, Dr DeFrance insisted the issue was “laid to rest”, downplaying its seriousness. However, the new revelation makes clear that forgery — not just generic misconduct — was at the heart of the disciplinary action.

A source familiar with the case had previously hinted that the offence was “very serious”, contradicting Dr DeFrance’s attempt to brush aside the controversy.

The fresh disclosure comes as Dr DeFrance and ANUG recently joined forces with US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed and his political movement WIN to contest the upcoming September 1st elections.

Since then, two founding members – Ralph Ramkarran and Timothy Jonas – along with other senior members of ANUG have resigned.