chart_callout_Evette

Art by Tamara Rees

An email sent Wednesday by Evette to its contracted relief veterinarians was copied and rapidly shared on social media, appearing on private and public pages alike. See the full message here.

In a masquerade that began eight years ago, a Texas-based veterinary relief staffing company called Evette has been using the identity of at least one veterinarian to access veterinarian-only Facebook groups, and possibly other veterinarians' identities to infiltrate online platforms of rival businesses. 

The cover was blown when someone affiliated with Evette tipped off a veterinarian who runs a Facebook group for relief veterinarians. The group administrator asked the member with the alleged falsified profile for identifying documents, which she did not produce.

Evette CEO Elise Burns confessed in an email sent Wednesday to relief veterinarians in her company's network that Evette had adopted the identity of a real veterinarian in order to join a private Facebook group. Burns wrote that the motivation was "gaining a better understanding of the issues and frustrations plaguing the industry — with the ultimate goal of better serving the community."

Burns added, "While the account was not created or used with malicious intent, we understand that what we did was wrong," and said the company had apologized to the veterinarian whose profile it falsified.

The message immediately went viral in veterinary circles, appearing on multiple Facebook pages and publicly on Reddit.

Burns' admission references a single private Facebook group and names one veterinarian whose identity was falsely used. But the VIN News Service has found at least four private Facebook groups whose administrators believe their groups were infiltrated. In addition, three competing relief veterinarian businesses suspect Evette may have hijacked at least three different veterinarians' identities to join their online platforms.

The largest private Facebook group thought to be affected is Not One More Vet (NOMV), which is focused on suicide prevention and supporting the mental health of veterinarians. It has more than 30,000 members.

Relief veterinarians are itinerant practitioners hired by clinics and hospitals on a fill-in basis, similar to substitute teachers. The popularity of working relief has grown tremendously, fueled in part by a workforce crunch that became acute during the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses that place relief veterinarians in practices have sprung up accordingly. Evette is one such company.

Burns did not personally respond to a phone call made to her Friday by VIN News. Instead, a public-relations contractor returned the call and asked that questions for Burns be submitted by email.

Today, the contractor provided responses to seven of 19 questions. The responses confirm that Evette emailed the message, now circulating on social media, to the relief veterinarians in its network on Wednesday, about a false account opened in 2016. The response states that Evette provides relief placements at 2,500 clinics and that the network has "over 20,000+" veterinarians in total.

The statement also appears to walk back the email's admission that a specific veterinarian's identity was used: "The intent was not to impersonate anyone, only to create a general avatar to listen to veterinarians' concerns to better serve them."

Texas state records show Evette was established in 2016 under the name VetIQ Staffing. Burns, its founder, has a bachelor's degree in sociology and psychology from Tulane University and a master of social work from Loyola University Chicago, according to her LinkedIn profile.

VetIQ Staffing recently was rebranded as Evette. Its official corporate name resembles that of another veterinary-related brand, VetIQ, but is unrelated, according to a spokesperson for the brand, which is part of Idaho-based PetIQ.

According to LinkedIn, Evette provides veterinary relief services nationally and internationally. Veterinarians work as contractors paid by the company, which contracts with the hospitals and is paid directly by them, according to a former Evette contractor. 

Raphael Moore, general counsel at the Veterinary Information Network, an online community for the profession and parent of VIN News, said impersonating others online can result in criminal charges and civil liability.

"Some states, including Texas where VetIQ Staffing is based, deem it a crime to use someone's name without their consent to post or send messages on or through social networking sites with intent to defraud or harm anyone, not just the person whose identify was used," he said. "Even when there is no local law that prevents online impersonation, many states have legislation that prohibits using someone's identity for commercial advantage."

VIN News has no information on whether law enforcement is aware of or investigating the situation.

How the deception came to light

In early November, someone purporting to have worked with Evette contacted Dr. Sara Harrison through a direct message on Facebook. The person said Burns had created a profile impersonating an actual veterinarian named Janice Andrews to join the Relief Veterinarians private Facebook group.

Harrison founded that group in 2016. It has nearly 11,000 members today.

The tipster said the fake profile was well-known within the company. "Apparently, it was used by multiple people to access vet-only groups," Harrison told VIN News.

To protect the source from potential retaliation by the company, Harrison declined to disclose their identity to VIN News. She said she verified the contact's identity, then studied the Facebook profile in question, using a variety of tools and research tactics. For example, she recounted, "I realized that there were many common friends between Janice Andrews and Elise Burns, and they — most of them — were Evette or VetIQ Staffing [personnel]."

Using a reverse Google Image search, she also found that the profile and banner images were stock photos.

On Nov. 12, Harrison sent a direct message to the account. As shown in a screenshot she shared with VIN News, she wrote: "Hi Janice, I'm the admin for the Relief Veterinarian page. I'm going through the membership list and see that you did not answer the membership questions or provide proof of being a veterinarian. Can you send me a photo of your license or your diploma? Thanks! Sara"


A response came the next day. "Hi Sara, Thanks for reaching out. I remember filling out those questions but to be fair it was quite a while ago. I dont [sic] feel comfortable sending my diploma but I graduated from University of Missouri in 1987."

Harrison replied minutes later: "OK. Can you tell me your license numbers and the states you are licensed in?"

No answer. She sent another message saying that she found a Dr. Janice Andrews who graduated from the University of Missouri veterinary school in 1987 who is a clinical pathologist and not doing relief shifts. Feeling certain the account was bogus, Harrison asked, "Do you want to try again?"

After four days with no response, Harrison said, she decided that she'd given Evette ample "opportunity to come forward and at least be honest."

On Wednesday, she alerted the Relief Veterinarians group about what she believed was a fake profile. She also notified administrators at other private Facebook groups that were listed on the fake profile. In addition, Harrison connected with a Dr. Janice Andrews who graduated from the University of Missouri in 1987. The Missouri alumna told Harrison that she did not create that profile.

VIN News was unable to reach Andrews.

Harrison's post about the fake account was received with a lot of anger by the Relief Veterinarians group, though some called for a tempered response, waiting for confirmation of the suspicion.

It came soon in the form of Burns' email, which was quickly circulated on Facebook and other social media platforms. By the next day, Harrison said, the suspicious profile, along with Burns' own, were gone from Facebook.

Harrison found several aspects of Burns' statement hard to swallow, including what she saw as an attempt to make it seem like it had been a youthful indiscretion in the distant past. "She was lying to me as recently as a week ago," she said.

Harrison did not attempt to contact the company or the CEO directly. Another veterinarian, Dr. Angela Duke, did, however.

Co-administrator of a private Facebook group for veterinary practice owners, Duke was asked by a group member to share a screenshot of the Evette email. Duke posted the screenshot and some context. Her post reads in part:

"I called Elise Burns and spoke with her directly to fact check this. She ... fully admitted to creating the false profile ... when her business was first starting. She said she had tried multiple ways to gain access to veterinarians and staff and was turned away with every approach she took. Now this is blowing up in her face. She said she’s getting hate emails in her LinkedIn, her personal email, her business email. She is a mother of young children and deeply regrets the mistake that she made .... She is not denying it at all .... I write this not to pass judgment or sway opinions, but just to state the facts."

Duke told VIN News that the fake profile was not used to gain access to the page she co-administers.

Other identities, other platforms

Contrary to what the Evette confession email implies, impersonations may not have been limited to one veterinarian nor to access only one Facebook group. In addition to "Janice Andrews," the identities of at least three other real veterinarians appear to have been adopted by Evette to gain access to at least three platforms that connect independent relief veterinarians with temporary openings at hospitals, judging from interviews with principals at those companies and one of the veterinarians who was impersonated.

The activities happened within the past two years. Personnel at the platforms discovered the profiles were connected to Evette in a variety of ways.

Dr. Ezra Ameis, a relief veterinarian and computer programmer in Southern California, runs a free platform called Vet'd on which hospitals can post shifts and veterinarians can accept them. He said he created the service as an alternative to large veterinary relief staffing companies that take high commissions and place restrictions on participating veterinarians.

He launched a companion Vet'd Facebook group in May, open only to licensed veterinarians and hospital managers or owners. After the Burns apology began circulating last week, Ameis reviewed Vet'd's Facebook group membership. He discovered the falsified Andrews profile and removed it immediately.

The next day, he began scrutinizing user rolls on the Vet'd platform and spotted a veterinarian account with an authentic veterinary license number and other details but an email address using the name of an Evette staff member and an Evette domain. Ameis contacted the doctor using an alternative means. That veterinarian told Ameis they had never signed up on Vet'd.

"We are a direct competitor that is promising our users a more transparent and fair playing field, and Evette seems to have gained access through misrepresenting the credentials of a real veterinarian under false pretenses to gather sensitive proprietary information for competitive advantage," Ameis told VIN News by email.

Dr. Clarisa Hernandez, a relief veterinarian in California, had a similar experience from the flip side. Hernandez once worked for Evette but left in October.

Late last week, she learned that someone had used her identity to sign up for an account on VetRoam, a new, free platform matching relief veterinarians to hospitals. This account email used the name of the Evette employee and an iCloud domain. Hernandez said that she never signed up for the service.

Dr. Ramzi Eid, a relief veterinarian and founder of VetRoam, told VIN News that his attempt to authenticate the "Hernandez" account immediately ran into a roadblock.

"I had sent multiple emails to the email address that was provided [on the account] and never received a reply," Eid told VIN News by email. "On further investigation of the email address, I found a LinkedIn profile of a non-vet Evette staff member whose name closely resembles the email address (it is an 88% match). I was able to pull the email address of the Evette staff member's LinkedIn using [the online tool] RocketReach, and the email address retrieved from the LinkedIn profile was a 100% match to the email that was provided on VetRoam."

Hernandez was "disheartened" to learn what her former employer apparently had done. "Why would they try to steal identities, especially of people who were working for them?" she wondered. When she left Evette, she said, she told them she would be happy to promote the company. No more. "That trust is broken," she said.

Relief Rover, a 6-year-old relief platform, identified an impersonated profile last year, according to its founder and chief veterinary officer, Dr. Cindy Trice. Using the assumed identity, an employee of then-VetIQ Staffing sent recruitment messages to Relief Rover veterinarians using her own name and identifying herself as from VetIQ.

"They signed up as a relief vet, then recruited as an employer," Trice said. "This could be considered theft from Relief Rover since signing up as a relief vet is free, but signing up as an employer costs money."

Trice emailed the VetIQ employee, copying to Burns, telling her never to sign onto Relief Rover again and deleted the account. She also sent a blanket note to everyone on the platform explaining what had happened.

"I tried calling Elise multiple times and left many messages for her," Trice told VIN News. "She did not call me back but had someone else from the [company] do it. That person did apologize but said that the employee who did that was just being 'creative.' "

DVMoms_screenshot

Screenshot courtesy of DVMoms Facebook group

This screenshot of a 2018 post to a DVMoms Facebook group was captured by a group administrator. Because the user's profile was taken down, the rest of the message is irretrievable.

'Predatory' and 'unethical' behavior

When the falsified profile was removed from Facebook, much of its activity evaporated from view. But some group members have screenshots that provide a peek into how the individual or individuals using the profile interacted with unsuspecting veterinarians.

Dr. Melanie Goble, an independent relief veterinarian based in Wisconsin, first encountered the fake profile on the Relief Veterinarians group when "Janice Andrews" posted in January 2020 asking for information to help her obtain relief work in Milwaukee. Goble was happy to oblige and reached out via direct message. "Janice Andrews" asked for Goble's contract and price details, which Goble shared, as she has done for others in the past.

"I believe we all do better when we work together," she explained.

Goble encountered the falsified-profile issue a second time when she learned last week that it had penetrated the NOMV Facebook group.

The membership lead for the suicide prevention group since 2016, Goble has been unable to determine how the fake profile was approved. It dogs her. "I have had a crisis of anxiety and trust issues this week," she said. "I feel horrible."

Now she's focused on keeping it from happening again. Goble said the challenge for NOMV is balancing the need for access with the need for proper vetting. "If you're in crisis, you aren't going to know where your diploma is," she said.

In social media discussions about the scandal, many veterinarians have expressed special horror that a fake profile was used to access NOMV.

Dr. Carrie Jurney, NOMV's immediate past president and the head of forum moderators, called it "vile."

"These are spaces where veterinarians trust each other to talk about hard things, and that's how we support each other," Jurney said.

NOMV posted updates in the group about the situation, inviting anyone who believes they were contacted by Evette as a result of activity on NOMV to be in touch.

Jurney said one member told her they had received recruiting emails from Evette addressed to their "social media name" that would be known only from their activity in the NOMV group and that the messages often came right after they posted to the group. Five others also came forward with suspicions, she said.

"It's circumstantial ..." Jurney acknowledged, "but ... it's hard not to feel targeted."

Jurney also got insight into Evette communications strategy last week when a NOMV member sent her a screenshot of a message from the staffing company. It was sent in response to the veterinarian asking about the impersonation controversy. The message says:

"I completely understand your concern- there's a lot of misinformation circulating, and it's frustrating, especially given the positive impact we've had on the community. Our team, with over eight years of dedication, has worked hard to maintain integrity and share the real story. I'd love the opportunity to share how Evette can support you- would you be open to a quick call."

Jurney said she contacted Evette "to express our displeasure about the situation" but declined to share details of the communication.

In response to Burns' emailed apology last week, Jurney said, "It very much struck me as someone who was sorry they got caught and was trying to spin it that it was for the community's own good, and I take great offense to that."

The fake profile also showed up in DVMoms, a 20,000-plus member group for veterinarians who are mothers.

Dr. Jamie Perkins, chief medical officer for the closed group, said DVMoms covers a wide range of topics and that members sometimes share intimate information. She said the group fundamentally is about trust and building connections.

As with other Facebook groups, much of what the "Janice Andrews" profile was doing in DVMoms disappeared when the account was deleted, but Perkins has a screenshot of a post from 2018 that appears to be a testimonial for Evette. It reads:

"Fellow Mommies***Had to share in case you are in a similar situation. I am a new mom (less than a year) and was really struggling to find balance, time, care, etc. I was approached by a company awhile back about a program they offered me that allowed me to work full time (3-4 days a week), w/ benefits, but the main thing being it gave me flexibility …"

Perkins described the behavior as "unethical" and "predatory."

"When someone impersonates a veterinarian and infiltrates this community, it's not just a personal betrayal — it's an affront to the progress we've made as women in this field," Perkins told VIN News in a written statement. "In the case of Evette, this act of deception was compounded by an effort to exploit our community for financial gain."