More trouble for abortion doctor, this time in Pennsylvania

"We contacted Dr. Brigham, and he said he wasn't aware that the license was suspended," recalled Kenneth Brody, the department's chief counsel. The department accepted that explanation and did not discipline Brigham.

In 2004, Brigham again pleaded ignorance. He said he was unaware that a physician who had done more than 1,600 abortions at American Women's Services clinics in Pennsylvania had previously retired his license and thus was not paying into the state's medical malpractice insurance fund.

That time, Brigham had to promise the department that from then on, his company would go to special lengths to verify medical credentials. He agreed that any further slip-ups would be grounds for barring him from having abortion facilities "directly or indirectly" in the state.

In issuing the shut-down order last week, Torres rejected one last legal argument that Brigham added to his pleadings early this year: He claimed the case had become moot because in January, he transferred ownership of his Pennsylvania clinics to a newly created company headed by a 70-year-old woman in Toledo, Ohio.

Permission to run abortion clinics "may not be transferred as part of a sales transaction," Torres ruled. Any transfer "would be void."

During Brigham's travails, his enterprise has continually evolved. Over the years, he has created at least 20 corporate entities - some with names such as Peaceful Corp., Goodness Inc., and Kindness Corp. - and added clinics in Virginia and Maryland.

The IRS now has a big claim against all of it.

"We have made a demand for payment of this liability, but it remains unpaid," say April IRS notices demanding $234,536 for unpaid payroll taxes. "Therefore, there is a lien in favor of the United States on all property and rights to property belonging to this taxpayer for the amount of these taxes, and additional penalties, interest, and costs that may accrue."

Contact staff writer Marie McCullough at 215-854-2720 or mmccullough@phillynews.com.