Physician assistant found guilty of drug trafficking
A physician assistant who worked at a Fountain Valley medical clinic has been convicted of federal drug trafficking for writing narcotics prescriptions without a medical purpose.
A federal jury on Monday found Kaitlyn Phuong Nguyen, 32, guilty of 10 felony counts related to illegal distribution of oxycodone, methadone and alprazolam.
During the trial, jurors heard evidence that four people died of drug overdoses after obtaining prescriptions from Nguyen, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Dr. Victor Boon Huat Siew, 66, who ran the clinic, was sentenced last week to nearly six years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of illegal distribution of a controlled substance by a practitioner.
The doctor admitted to illegally prescribing oxycodone, methadone and alprazolam from his clinic from 2009 through 2015, prosecutors said.
Physician assistant Thanh Nha Pham, 31, who also worked at the clinic, pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Pham is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 29.
Prosecutors said Siew, Pham and Nguyen issued prescriptions without a medical purpose in exchange for cash and insurance payments, despite “red flags” in many of the patients’ files that indicated they were abusing pain medication.
Nguyen, who worked at the clinic in 2012, performed “cursory examinations” on patients before prescribing the drugs, prosecutors said.
She faces a maximum of 140 years in federal prison at her sentencing Jan. 22.
Fry writes for Times Community News
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
