Authorities believe the people were recruited and paid for Vicodin prescriptions that were turned over to drug dealers who sold them by the pill at a huge markup. 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:
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.Lin's case will be referred to the Medical Board of California, which could pursue action against his license. He could also lose his federal permit to prescribe drugs prone to abuse. This arrest comes not too long after another Southern California physician, Dr. Lisa Tseng, was arrested for illegally dealing prescription pain medication.
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.