$2M settlement reached after former Chicago podiatrist accused of sexual misconduct

CHICAGO - An attorney representing two Chicago college students is speaking out after the women filed separate civil lawsuits against former podiatrist Asim Qureshi and Michigan Avenue Podiatry.

Former Chicago podiatrist accused of sexual misconduct

The backstory:

The lawsuits, which identify the students as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, allege Qureshi engaged in sexual misconduct during what were supposed to be professional shadow days and claim the practice failed to properly supervise the doctor and protect the students.

"He would cold message them and say, 'Hey... we should connect,'" said the students’ attorney, Dan Kirschner, who noted that Qureshi began reaching out to students interested in health sciences or podiatry via LinkedIn on June 7, 2024.

According to court documents, Qureshi allegedly groomed the students by promising to leverage his professional standing to assist them with graduate school admissions and offer them future employment at Michigan Avenue Podiatry.

The filings state that Jane Doe 2 visited the downtown office on June 18, 2024, while Jane Doe 1 visited the northwest location 11 days later. Both women reported that Qureshi made sexually charged comments before getting them alone in his office, where they say he touched them inappropriately, including buttocks, thigh, and groin area, under the disguise of demonstrating a physical therapy technique.

"I think it is fairly clear that had each of them not stopped him when they stopped him, it would have continued to progress," Kirschner said. "It was his way of saying, inch by inch, how far can I push this?"

Dig deeper:

In January 2025, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suspended Qureshi’s medical license for a minimum of three years citing unprofessional conduct, sexual harassment, and unsanitary office conditions. 

While the civil cases were resolved through a $2 million settlement paid by the clinic's insurance carrier, Qureshi was never criminally charged.

Todd Carroll, a former FBI agent who specialized in cybercrimes, noted that the case highlights how easily professional trust, specifically on platforms like LinkedIn, can be exploited.

"Now there are people out there like this doctor who have used that trust to gain access to others and then breach that trust," Carroll said. 

Qureshi no longer appears on the Michigan Avenue Podiatry website. However, a Unit 32 investigation found him appearing in videos produced by a hospital in Pakistan, referring to him as a "consultant podiatrist." 

FOX Chicago reached out for comment, but the hospital did not respond to our questions about Qureshi’s current role or whether he is seeing patients.

"You have trust betrayed by someone who otherwise seemed like a potential mentor, a professional," said Kirschner." He was a doctor. So, it becomes very hard to then trust male doctors again, trust male mentors."

What's next:

Kirschner told FOX Chicago’s Se Kwon that both women have since graduated from college and have continued their careers.

FOX Chicago has reached out to Asim Qureshi’s attorneys and LinkedIn representatives for comment but did not receive a response.