The California Department of Justice Division of Medical Fraud and Elder Abuse assisted with this investigation

“When medical professionals divert from their oath to protect the health and well-being of patients and prescribe powerful addictive drugs where there is no need, they endanger lives and contribute to drug addiction throughout our communities.  We the law enforcement efforts to investigate this crime.”

– CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

OAKLAND – On March 15, 2024, former San Francisco Bay Area doctor Parto Karimi, 59, of Alamo, was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for distributing powerful opioids outside the scope of medical practice.

Karimi pleaded guilty in July 2023 to one count of distributing hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, outside the scope of professional practice, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C).

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Karimi practiced medicine from an accessory dwelling unit on the grounds of her suburban home from roughly 2011 to 2022. Her practice operated under the name “Mindful Medicine.” Karimi was a licensed practitioner of internal medicine who had previously worked as an emergency room doctor at an East Bay hospital and was authorized to prescribe controlled substances as part of her medical practice.

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, the DEA began investigating Karimi after receiving concerning information from the family of one of Karimi’s former patients, who had passed away. The investigation included multiple visits by undercover agents to Karimi’s medical practice. On October 1, 2021, an undercover agent asked Karimi for 10mg Norco tablets based on a claim of leg pain resulting from work as a restaurant server. Karimi admitted in her plea agreement that she wrote the undercover agent a prescription for 60 high-dose Norco pills without conducting a physical examination, without asking follow-up questions about the undercover agent’s reported pain, without obtaining medical records, and without exploring alternative treatment options or trying a lower dose. Karimi admitted that, in doing so, she knew she was acting in an unauthorized manner by prescribing a controlled substance outside the usual course of medical practice. She also admitted she knew the drug she prescribed was a powerful opioid that can be highly addictive and is liable to abuse by patients.

The government argued that Karimi wrote medical prescriptions for opioids like Norco in exchange for street drugs including cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as cash payments.

In addition to the prison sentence, Karimi is ordered to serve three years of supervised release to begin after her prison term is completed. Karimi must also forfeit her California medical license and to pay a $4,000 fine. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by DEA, with assistance from the United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the California Department of Justice Division of Medical Fraud and Elder Abuse.