Progressive Medical Center Lawsuit: Deaths, Fraud, and Bankruptcy

The Progressive Medical Center lawsuit history spans more than two decades and includes a wrongful death suit over a 2002 patient death during chelation therapy, a Blue Cross Blue Shield racketeering action alleging a fraudulent lab-billing scheme, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed by co-founder Gez Agolli and his laboratory business, and an active fraud adversary proceeding brought by two creditors. The Dunwoody, Georgia clinic remains open, and the credentials of the man who serves as its public face have never been publicly verified.¹

The 2002 Wrongful Death Suit

Susan Alexander was 56 when she went to Progressive Medical Center in 2002 seeking help for chronic fatigue and difficulty concentrating. She collapsed and died during a chelation therapy session. The DeKalb County coroner attributed the death to an irregular heartbeat triggered by coronary artery disease.¹

Chelation therapy uses intravenous drugs to strip heavy metals from the body and is typically prescribed for lead poisoning. Dr. Viktor Bouquette, the physician who ordered it for Alexander, used the treatment for her fatigue rather than for any heavy metal exposure. The Georgia Composite Medical Board later found that decision fell below prevailing medical standards.²

Alexander’s family sued Progressive Medical Center and Bouquette in DeKalb County, alleging negligence, fraud, and wrongful death. During the litigation the family learned that Bouquette carried no medical malpractice insurance. Georgia does not require physicians to maintain coverage,³ and that absence complicated any recovery. The case ended in a $250,000 settlement, an amount Edwin Alexander said the family accepted on advice of counsel, who warned that pushing forward could drain them financially given the clinic’s insurance situation.¹

In 2011 the Georgia Composite Medical Board fined Bouquette $7,500 and ordered continuing medical education, citing his use of “unorthodox” and “substandard” treatments and problems with his medical records. His license was neither revoked nor suspended.⁴ Records show his Georgia medical license remains active through 2027.⁵

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Fraud Suit

The clinic’s biggest civil exposure grew out of a short-lived hospital deal in Tennessee. In January 2019, Progressive Hospital Group, a company established by Agolli, took over management of Decatur County General Hospital, a small rural facility. The Decatur County Commission terminated the arrangement in February 2020 and voted the following month to close the hospital.⁶

An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury identified roughly $6 million in questionable payments, liabilities, and funds at risk. Investigators found that Progressive Hospital Group arranged for lab tests to be processed at Dunwoody Labs, a separate laboratory Agolli operated in Georgia, while submitting insurance claims under the hospital’s billing identification. Because a rural hospital commands higher reimbursement rates than a private lab, the practice allegedly inflated what insurers paid. Test request forms were “altered in appearance,” including modified logos, to make the work look like it was done at the hospital.⁶⁷ Hospital debt nearly tripled under Progressive’s management, rising from about $1 million to roughly $2.87 million, and included unpaid obligations to employees, vendors, and the IRS. The comptroller referred the findings to the local district attorney and to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.

Blue Cross Blue Shield then filed a civil lawsuit against Agolli, Progressive Medical Center, Progressive Hospital Group, and Dunwoody Labs, alleging a fraudulent scheme involving inflated reimbursements for lab tests and other services. The complaint accused the defendants of racketeering, conspiracy, and corporate domination, and alleged that Agolli used proceeds for personal expenses, including luxury vehicles.¹

Bankruptcy and the Fraud Adversary Proceeding

In May 2022, Dunwoody Labs and Gezim Agolli filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Northern District of Georgia.⁸ Two creditors, DC Medical Marketing and Liberty Wellness Services, filed an adversary proceeding inside the bankruptcy alleging false pretenses, fraud, and willful and malicious injury. In August 2023 the bankruptcy court denied Agolli’s motion to dismiss the fraud and willful injury claims, allowing them to move forward, and dismissed a separate count tied to materially false financial statements.⁹

Consumer Complaints and the Credential Question

Beyond formal litigation, patients have raised complaints about how the clinic charges and what its co-founder claims to be. Theresa Queen, a Woodstock, Georgia resident who visited in 2022, told the AJC she spent $3,300 on supplements and tests after being directed to buy $400 in supplements from the clinic’s in-house store before receiving her lab results. Ron Evangelista, an 82-year-old with osteoarthritis, paid $16,000 for a treatment plan that included neck injections performed without fluoroscopic guidance, which experts described as inappropriate. A separate complaint filed with the Georgia Attorney General’s Office alleged a patient paid $4,000 for tests and was then steered to buy supplements before results arrived, calling the center “fraudulent.”¹⁰

Progressive Medical Center’s website states that patients are under “zero obligation” to purchase from its in-house store, Progressive Nutracare, that licensed physicians oversee all treatment plans, and that patients are informed when treatments fall outside the FDA-approved framework, with those conversations documented in patient charts.¹¹

Agolli co-founded the clinic and serves as its public face, appearing in videos and promotional materials using the title “Dr.” and wearing a white coat. He is not a licensed physician. When the AJC asked the clinic to detail his education, it declined. Some websites describe him as a “naturopathic doctor,” but the newspaper could not identify the school where he obtained such a degree. The clinic’s own site lists his credentials as “DrPH, PhD, MBBS” and describes his role as administrative rather than clinical.¹¹ In a 2005 deposition, Agolli said he moved from Florida to Georgia because Florida prohibited naturopaths, while Georgia had “no regulations one way or the other.” Florida regulators and the state Department of Insurance had investigated complaints about weight-loss programs Agolli operated there, and a physician who worked with him, Dr. Marvin Reich, was fined $10,000 by the Florida medical board for inadequate records and unnecessary treatment of patients.¹

Why the Clinic Keeps Operating

Progressive Medical Center has run for nearly three decades in Georgia despite this record, and part of the reason is regulatory. The AJC reported that a 2020 state audit found the Georgia Composite Medical Board is chronically underfunded, with a significant share of the license fees it collects diverted to the state’s general fund rather than used for enforcement. In 2023 and 2024 the board received thousands of complaints and issued only 28 and 24 disciplinary orders, respectively. Georgia ranks among the weakest states in the country for serious physician discipline; Ohio imposes discipline at roughly five times Georgia’s rate.¹²

Where Things Stand Now

As of June 2026, Progressive Medical Center remains open in Dunwoody. The clinic states it has served more than 45,000 patients across its 27-year history.¹¹ According to the AJC, it continues to operate without medical malpractice insurance and, in some cases, without a physician present during procedures such as hyperbaric oxygen treatments. The clinic declined multiple requests from the newspaper for an interview.¹ If you are considering treatment there, confirm the license status of any physician who would be involved in your care through the Georgia Composite Medical Board, ask in writing about malpractice coverage, and get a written treatment plan and price sheet before paying for tests or supplements.

1
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta Clinic Promoting Unconventional Medicine Has Controversial History
2
Augusta Chronicle. Hundreds of Georgia Doctors Uninsured
3
MedPLI. Georgia Medical Malpractice Requirements, Insurance Rates, and Payout Data
4
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Thousands of Georgia Doctors Lack Malpractice Insurance
5
U.S. News Health. Viktor Bouquette
6
Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Questionable Activity Surrounds Decatur County General Hospital
7
FOX 17 Nashville. $6M Worth of Questionable Payments From Decatur County General Hospital Under Investigation
8
PACER Monitor. Dunwoody Labs Inc, Case 1:22-bk-53775
9
GovInfo. Adversary Proceeding 22-05132-JWC
10
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Desperate Patients Seek Cures, Leave With Debt and Regret
11
Progressive Medical Center. Progressive Medical Center
12
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Underfunded Georgia Medical Board Does Little to Stop Doctors Who Cross the Line