Bay Area Doctors Agree To Pay $260,000 For Failure To Maintain Adequate Controlled Substance Records
SAN FRANCISO - Drs. William Longton, Ruben Kalra, and Richard Shinaman have agreed to collectively pay $260,000 to settle allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice that they failed to keep and maintain adequate records and other allegations pertaining to controlled substances at their Novato, Pleasant Hill, and Pleasanton offices, announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Chris Nielsen.
The settlement agreement resolves allegations by the government that a January 2014 DEA inspection uncovered multiple violations by Longton, Kalra, and Shinaman of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801. The physicians operate under the name Pain Medicine Consultants, Inc., with offices in multiple Bay Area locations. In the agreement, the physicians acknowledge that they each, at the relevant time, were registered with the DEA as Practitioners, providing them with authorizations to handle Schedules II through V controlled substances. They also acknowledge they had an obligation to “keep and maintain” records related to their receipt and distribution of controlled substances in connection with their practices. According to the agreement, following the DEA’s inspection, the government concluded that between January 10, 2012, through January 17, 2014, Shinaman, Longton, and Kalra failed to keep and maintain adequate records pertaining to controlled substances, as required by 21 C.F.R. § 1304, et seq.; failed to include the address of the patient on controlled substance prescriptions that they each issued as required by 21 C.F.R. § 1306.05(a); and exceeded the authority of their registrations by filling a prescription for a controlled substance, in violation of 21 C.F.R. § 1306.06.
According to the terms of the agreement, Longton, Kalra, and Shinaman will collectively pay the government $260,000 to resolve all civil claims related to the violations identified in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca A. Falk is handling the matter on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, with assistance from the DEA San Francisco Division, Oakland Resident Office Diversion Group.
