Feds: OC Doctor Met Patients At Starbucks, Prescribed Vicodin For Cash
SANTA ANA (CBS) — An Orange County doctor is in federal custody Wednesday on charges of illegally prescribing potentially addictive painkillers to "patients" he met at coffee shops in exchange for cash payments.
KNX 1070's Jan Stevens reports a grand jury indicted Alvin Yee, 43, of Mission Viejo, after a yearlong investigation by federal and local law enforcement agencies.
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Yee accepted payments of up to $600 in cash to write prescriptions to virtually anyone who asked, including drug addicts and other high-risk clientele, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Most of Yee's patients allegedly met him at various local Starbucks locations at night — most of them young adults.
"Fully one-third of his patients were under 25 years of age," said Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney's office. "That's important because typically what we see, someone who is older who has suffered a series of significant injuries and therefore needs a painkiller such as OxyContin."
Yee is accused of writing prescriptions for various drugs including Xanax, Vicodin and Adderall for clients who came from as far as Seattle, Phoenix and Detroit — sometimes meeting up with as many as a dozen people every night of the week, according to an affidavit.
An attorney for Yee said his client maintains his innocence and has committed no crime, the Associated Press reported.
If convicted, Yee could face up to 1,000 years in prison.
