13 things about Cupertino, California’s Dr. Todd Yao

Todd Tienwei Yao is a Taiwanese medical doctor from Cupertino, California, United States. Aside from California, he has lived in other U.S. states including Kansas, Mississippi and Texas.

BIOGRAPHY

Yao and his wife have a daughter. He is a former resident of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Aside from Cupertino, Yao has lived in other parts of California including Mountain View. He has lived in different parts of Texas including Galveston and Houston and in different parts of Kansas including Shawnee and Overland Park.

As a doctor, Yao was affiliated with Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Mountain View, California and Sutter Medical Network. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He was born in 1970.
2. From 1992 to 1999, he worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center in Houston as an engineer.
3. In 2003, he graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
4. From 2003 to 2006, he completed a family medicine residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
5. In 2004, he was an intern at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
6. In 2006, he obtained a Medical Board of California certificate.
7. From 2006 to 2021, he worked at at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) in Mountain View as an urgent care physician.
8. From 2011 to 2012, he was the chair of the PAMF’s urgent care department.
9. In 2020, he organized a recreational volleyball group that played outdoors in locations such as public parks amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
10. Represented by California deputy attorney general Tessa L. Heunis, Medical Board of California department of consumer affairs executive director Reji Varghese issued an accusation against him, alleging that he committed unprofessional conduct in 2020 and 2021 in connection with two women including misconduct, gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, failure to maintain adequate medical records and general unprofessional conduct, which he all denied.
11. In 2021, he was arrested.
12. In 2023, a case filed against him in 2021 was dismissed after he completed a program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in La Jolla, California and a course at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine in Irvine, California.
13. In 2024, his Medical Board of California certificate was conditionally revoked.

TIMELINE

Yao specializes in emergency medicine, internal medicine and family medicine. He speaks English and Mandarin Chinese.

2000s

• On May 17, 2006, the Medical Board of California issued his certificate number.

2020s

• He went to dinner with a Taiwanese certified public accountant and divorced woman, then 54, at a Japanese restaurant after a volleyball game on July 26, 2020 and treated her at the PAMF urgent-care clinic and referred her to a dermatologist for evaluation on July 29, 2020. He provided bioelectric massage to her twice in July 2020, once in August 2020 and once in October 2020. According to him, he had sexual intercourse with her in October 2020, which she denied. They exchanged text messages from December 18, 2020 to August 20, 2021. On August 24, 2021, she called police to file a complaint against him. On September 16, 2021, a felony complaint was filed against him with charges arising from her allegations.
• On November 27, 2020, he treated a woman, then 27, at the PAMF urgent-care clinic, exchanged WeChat contact information and sent messages to each other from the day to April 14, 2021. He allegedly went to her house in Sunnyvale, California uninvited, pinned her down and tried to kiss her, she told Sunnyvale Police Department officer James Pine on April 15, 2021. He told Pine he did go to her house to check on her but denied pushing her down or trying to kiss her. She filed a temporary restraining order against him, which was issued on April 19, 2021, but never appeared at the civil harassment court hearing so the proceedings were dismissed on March 27, 2023. On July 8, 2021, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety arrested him for sexual battery in connection with her allegations. On July 12, 2021, she submitted an online complaint against him to the Medical Board of California.
• On November 18, 2021, a consolidated felony complaint was issued, charging him with committing battery against a 54-year-old woman and committing battery and sexual battery against a 24-year-old woman. The older accuser testified on November 3, 2022 during the preliminary hearing, which was attended by the younger one. The criminal trial was scheduled for June 2023 but it was continued because the younger accuser was in China renewing her visa. She failed to appear at the second trial date in August 2023.
• On March 10, 2023, Varghese issued an accusation against him.
• On August 15, 2023, an offer in resolution of the consolidated criminal charges required him to perform 300 hours of volunteer work and participate in counseling.
• From August 2023 to October 2023, he performed 312 hours of volunteer work for the Land of Medicine Buddha nonprofit organization.
• From September 13-15, 2023, he completed a 39.5-credit program offered by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine’s Physician Assessment and Clinical Education Program called Professional Boundaries Program.
• From November 11-12, 2023, he completed a 23-credit course offered by the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine called Physician Assessment and Clinical Quality Improvement Program – Medical Ethics and Professionalism.
• He completed six sessions of psychotherapy with Christina Bennett, L.M.F.T., ending in December 2023.
• On December 21, 2023, a criminal case against him was dismissed by the court.
• On January 19, 2024, Varghese filed a first amended accusation against him, containing five alleged causes for discipline.
• On November 1, 2024, the certificate issued to him by Medical Board of California was revoked but revocation was stayed and he was placed on probation for five years under several terms and conditions including compliance with all financial obligations not later than 120 calendar days prior to the completion of probation. Upon successful completion of probation, his certificate shall be fully restored.