United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The United States has filed a civil complaint against nurse practitioner Joan Rubinger, registered in Stockton, that alleges a long-running nationwide scheme to sell illegal opioid prescriptions for cash, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris announced. The...

FRESNO, Calif. — Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, of Fresno, was sentenced today to seven years and three months in prison for illegally distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone. Ntukogu was a pharmacist in Madera who dispensed more than 450,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills based on fraudulent prescriptions, all in exchange for cash...

OAKLAND, Calif. – Parto Karimi, a former Bay Area doctor, has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for distributing powerful opioids outside the scope of medical practice, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), San Francisco Field Division, Special Agent...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the arrest of and filing of charges against Dr. Arash Padidar, a Santa Clara County doctor accused of illegally prescribing opioids to patients. The arrest and charges are the result of an investigation into an alleged two-years-long illegal prescription...

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A federal jury yesterday convicted family medicine physician Donald Siao of twelve counts of distributing the controlled substances Oxycodone and Hydrocodone outside the scope of his usual professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)...

SAN FRANCISCO –Thomas Keller, formerly a pain management doctor in Santa Rosa, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for distributing Schedule II and IV controlled substances outside the scope of his professional practice and without a legitimate medical need, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, Drug Enforcement...

PHOENIX – On Oct. 29, 2022, communities across the country demonstrated their continued support for DEA’s bi-annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by safely disposing of more than 647,000 pounds of unneeded medications at nearly 5,000 collection sites across the country. Since its inception in 2010, DEA’s National Prescription...

FRESNO, Calif. — On Oct. 20, 2022, a federal grand jury charged Sohail Mamdani, 46, of Los Banos, with mail fraud and money laundering in connection to a disability insurance fraud scheme, and unlawful use of a DEA registration number and fraudulently obtaining possession of a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney...

PHOENIX - Nurse Practitioner Deborah Ann Cooney, 59 years old, has been indicted on 14 criminal charges related to her alleged illegal opioid prescribing practices at a clinic she operates in Mesa, Arizona. The investigation conducted by the Phoenix Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) developed allegations of improper...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Physician Edmund Kemprud, 78, of Dublin, was convicted today of 14 counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other controlled substances patients, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to evidence presented at trial, Kemprud was a physician licensed to practice medicine in California and worked in...