Southern California Illegal Prescription-Drug Ring
California physicians should be aware of identity theft when it comes to their DEA license. The San Diego Regional Pharmaceutical Narcotic Enforcement Team (RxNET) is conducting an investigation into unauthorized possession of prescription-drug scripts ordered from authorized vendors by individuals posing as California licensed physicians.
RxNET along with the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Department of Health Care Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other local law enforcement agencies are assisting in the investigation.
The investigation has so far linked 5,000 fraudulent prescriptions to the prescription-drug fraud ring. The ring starts with ordering prescription-drug scripts from legitimate vendors using the stolen identities of practicing physicians. They then either sell the scripts on the street to addicts or to people who are paid to fill the prescription then sell them on the street.
Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has filed more than 200 cases against physicians and patients. Brown credits the upgrades made to CURES, the state’s prescription-drug monitoring database in tracking down criminal offenders.
In addition to the potential criminal filings, physicians are also subject to the loss of their DEA license as well as the loss of their license by the California Medical Board.
