Doctor Arrested for Prescribing Unnecessary Drugs to Homeless People

LOS ANGELES-- A neurologist has been arrested for prescribing drugs to homeless people that were then sold illegally by dealers, records said.

Dr. Zhiwei Lin was arrested Thursday in his medical office at 1818 Western Avenue in South Los Angeles.

"Dr. Lin was charged with illegally prescribing drugs without a proper medical examination as well as prescribing to known addicts," an undercover investigator told KTLA on condition of anonymity.

According to investigators, drug dealers allegedly recruited homeless men and women skid row and took them to Lin's office where he was paid $100 per person to prescribe unneeded pain pills, including Hydrocodone and Oxycontin.

Then, the dealers paid the homeless people $20 each to use their Medicare cards at a pharmacy and pick up the drugs, which the dealers sold on the street for a huge profit margin, investigators said.

Lin faces arraignment on five counts of illegally prescribing drugs, and could face up to a year in jail and a $20,000 fine, according to the arrest warrant.
It is unclear whether or not the Medical Board of California will take any action regarding Lin's license.