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East County News Service
September 1, 2016 (El Cajon) - Dr. Naga Raja Thota has been arrested at his office on Navajo Road in El Cajon by the San Diego Drug Enforcement Administration. A pain specialist and anesthesiologist, Dr. Thota is accused of trading prescriptions for opioid narcotic painkillers for sexual acts with multiple women, prosecutors allege.
If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison, $1 million in fines and a lifetime of supervised release, Courthouse News reports.
Thota, a resident of the Lake Murray area, allegedly provided pain drugs without legitimate medical reason including to a 20-year-old woman who went on to become a heroin addict, Patch.com has reported.
An affidavit from a DEA agent includes transcripts of explicit text messages and lists of the drugs Thota prescribed: 4,910 to one woman in a single year, in her name and the names of her father and brother, who were not his patients are not accused of wrongdoing.
“Prescription drug abuse and overdoses have reached alarming levels,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “We are going after doctors who abuse their power to prescribe and exploit the desperation of addicts for their own gratification.”
NBC 7 news reports that Dr. Thota has previously been involved in malpractice and negligence cases. He was profiled, by the Los Angeles Times in a 2012 article on chronic pain issues titled, "Helped or Hooked?" Thota told the newspaper, "Somebody has to take care of these people ...And I am the chosen one."
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Thota will be charged on suspicion of dispensing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, $1 million in fines and a life-term of supervised release.
At a hearing Wednesday, a federal judge set bail at $100,000 for Thota and prohibited him from writing narcotics prescriptions for women without his partner’s consent. A hearing is set for September 13.
Authorities ask that anyone with information on other victims of Dr. Thota was urged to contact the DEA at 858-616-4100 and ask for the diversion duty agent.
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