Surgeon Countersues Roller Weight Loss Clinic

Dr. Joshua Roller, left, president of Roller Weight Loss & Advanced Surgery, is suing his former employee, Dr. Jeffrey Swetnam, for breach of contract.

Dr. Jeffrey Swetnam answered a lawsuit filed against him by Roller Weight Loss & Advanced Surgery with one of his own.

As Whispers told you early this month, Roller sued Swetnam, a Fayetteville cosmetic surgeon, in Washington County Circuit Court in June, alleging that Swetnam had stolen money, patient records and equipment.

The clinic, led by Dr. Josh Roller, sued for breach of contract claiming Swetnam owed $300,000 for a consultation fee and asked for $500,000 in punitive damages.

Swetnam responded with a counterclaim filed in mid-July claiming the clinic shortchanged him during his tenure and denying Roller’s theft charges.

Swetnam also charged that Josh Roller breached his duty by failing to provide a professional work environment. Swetnam said Roller used profanity, spread “vicious gossip” he knew wasn’t true about employees and hospital staff and referred to one of his staff surgeons as his “Korean Bitch” or “My Bitch.”

‘Unintended Consequences’
Swetnam entered an employment agreement with Roller and Northwest Medical Center in Springdale in 2015. Josh Roller said he gave Swetnam a 30-day termination notice on April 9 of this year because Swetnam “engaged in significant inappropriate, unprofessional and other bad conduct.”

In his countersuit, Swetnam said Roller fired him because he refused to partner with Roller in buying a cosmetic surgery machine, and Roller had also begun selling skin care and hair growth products in direct competition with Swetnam. Swetnam also said Roller wanted to have elective procedures performed in Swetnam’s office so Swetnam could be blamed for mistakes and Swetnam’s staff would be used.

Swetnam said Roller told him if he didn’t go along with the plan there would be “unintended consequences.” Swetnam says he was fired so Roller could start his own cosmetic surgery practice.

Swetnam denied taking any money owed to Roller; he claimed that Roller “intentionally shorted” Swetnam and overstated expenses. He said Roller had an “emergency account” with at least $40,000 that was owed to Swetnam.

Swetnam said that, upon advice of legal counsel, he set up a separate account after his termination to receive patient payments.

He told Josh Roller of the account and intended to use it to hold money until the parties could figure out who owed how much to whom; he said he later gave the money to Roller so Roller would be the only one holding money whose ownership was unclear.

Swetnam denied Roller’s allegation that he put the company at risk from third-party payers for charges not supported by proper documentation.

Swetnam said a 2017 audit found discrepancies and he repaid insurers more than $5,000, but the confusion was a result of the company’s software, for which Roller didn’t provide sufficient training.

Swetnam asked for Roller’s suit to be dismissed and for damages for the clinic’s breach of contract against him, with the amount to be determined at trial.

We’ll look for more details as the case plays out.