Monterey Park pediatrician faces drug charges
A Monterey Park pediatrician is accused of doling out prescription-strength diet pills to adults who had no legitimate need for the drug, according to an indictment unsealed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Dr. Thomas Lin, who operates a pediatrics clinic on Atlantic Boulevard known as “Kid’s M.D.,” is accused of illegally prescribing and dispensing a potent stimulant called Phentermine. Two of Lin’s employees were also named in the 55-count indictment.
Lin could not immediately be reached for comment.
Some of Lin’s “patients” were undercover investigators with the Medical Board of California who allegedly received the drug with little or no medical exam, according to a news release from Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey.
In some cases, the undercover investigators paid the front office staff for the drug; others times it was given for free, prosecutors said.
In addition, Lin is accused of illegally providing the medication to more than a dozen ordinary patients, said John Niedermann, one of the prosecutors on the case.
Lin is also charged with multiple counts of Medi-Cal and insurance fraud for billing for services he allegedly did not perform. His bail was set at $550,000.
Lin’s physician’s assistant was charged with illegitimate prescribing, and an employee was charged with drug dealing and practicing medicine without a license for allegedly selling drugs to undercover investigators away from the clinic.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty.
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Twitter: @scottgloverLAT
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