L.A. doctor arrested for allegedly prescribing painkillers to homeless people who didn’t need them

A Los Angeles physician was arrested Thursday for allegedly prescribing pain medication to homeless people who didn’t need the drugs, according to records and authorities.

Dr. Zhiwei Lin is set to be arraigned Friday on five counts of illegally prescribing drugs, misdemeanors each punishable by up to a year in County Jail and a $20,000 fine, according to the arrest warrant filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Lin, 52, a board-certified neurologist, declined to comment.

“I cannot speak to you right now because they [authorities] are coming to me without any explaining,” Lin said as a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy led him away in handcuffs from his Western Avenue practice in the Harvard Heights neighborhood.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Opferman, who runs the medical fraud unit that made the arrest, said Lin is suspected of prescribing Vicodin, a powerful pain reliever popular among drug abusers, to homeless people without legitimate medical need.

Authorities believe the homeless “patients” were brought to the doctor by recruiters, also known as cappers. The cappers would pay the homeless people for their prescriptions and turn them over to dealers who sold them by the pill at a huge mark-up, Opferman said.

Matthew Gonzalez, a security officer at the building, said that Lin’s practice drew “strange characters” on the days it was open and that police had been called to at least one disturbance.

Opferman said Lin’s case would be referred to the Medical Board of California, which could pursue action against his license. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was also involved and could pull the physician’s federal permit to prescribe drugs prone to abuse.

Medical board spokeswoman Debbie Nelson declined to say whether the agency would pursue any action against Lin’s license, citing board policy against discussing investigations.

lisa.girion@latimes.com

scott.glover@latimes.com