Dr.  Yahya Hedvat, a 69-year-old Encino physician awaiting trial for prescribing narcotic drugs without a legitimate medical need was arrested August 13, 2014 and charged in a new case, according to the Los Angeles County District  Attorney’s Office.

Dr. Yahya Hedvat, who runs an Encino medical clinic called “Urgent Care,” was arrested on a warrant charging him with one count of sale of a controlled substance, hydrocodone. He was being held on $1 million bail.

Hedvat was scheduled to start trial in two weeks on a 10-count Grand Jury indictment charging him with unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance, including hydrocodone, suboxone and clonazepam.

Hedvat, who had been released on his own recognizance pending the start of that trial, had voluntarily surrendered his DEA license to prescribe controlled substances.

The new complaint alleges that on Aug. 8, an undercover operator with the California Medical Board went into Hedvat’s clinic and negotiated the purchase of additional narcotics from the physician, including Norco and Ativan.

Undercover investigators purchased the drugs from Hedvat’s office assistant, Nikravan Hormuz, in the clinic’s parking lot.   Hormuz was arrested August 14, 2014  on a warrant charging him with a felony count of selling a controlled substance.

“Prescribing or selling a controlled substance when there is no medical need contributes to a growing problem of substance abuse,” said Alan Barcelona, president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) which represents California Medical Board investigators.  ” California Medical Board investigators are working to weed out physicians who are recklessly prescribing or selling these narcotics, in an effort to stop the misuse and abuse of these narcotics in our communities.”

If convicted as charged in both cases, Hedvat faces up to 14 years, eight months in county jail.

Hormuz faces up to five years in county jail if convicted.