Notable prosecutions
The Los Angeles. County district attorney’s office has filed charges against 13 doctors for overprescribing. Here are snapshots of some of the biggest cases:
DR. CARLOS ESTIANDAN
When were charges filed? 2008
The case: Estiandan was charged with more than a dozen felony counts of illegally prescribing prescription drugs. He was such a prolific prescriber, authorities say, that only Johns Hopkins Hospital wrote more prescriptions than he did in a single month in 2008.
Outcome: A jury convicted Estiandan and he was sentenced to five years in prison.
DRS. SANDEEP KAPOOR AND KHRISTINE EROSHEVICH
When were charges filed? 2009
The case: After the overdose death of model Anna Nicole Smith, prosecutors filed unlawful prescription charges against Kapoor, her primary care physician, and Eroshevich, her psychiatrist.
Outcome: A jury acquitted Kapoor of all charges. Eroshevich was convicted of several felonies, but all the charges were later thrown out or dropped to a misdemeanor.
DR. JOHN DIMOWO
When were charges filed? 2013
The case: Prosecutors charged the pain doctor with several counts of illegally prescribing narcotics. Dimowo, who was featured in a 2012 investigative piece in The Times about patient overdoses, prescribed Vicodin, Adderall and Xanax to undercover agents who had no legitimate need for the drugs, prosecutors said.
Outcome: He was convicted in May 2015 of seven counts of illegally prescribing. A judge rejected prosecution calls for prison time, reduced Dimowo’s convictions to misdemeanors and placed him on probation.
DR. HSIU YING “LISA” TSENG
When were charges filed? 2012
The case: In a landmark case, L.A. County prosecutors charged Tseng with second-degree murder in connection with the overdose deaths of three of her patients.
Outcome: A jury convicted Tseng, and she was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
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