Santa Ana psychiatrist accused in conspiracy to sell prescription opioids

A Santa Ana-based psychiatrist faces more than 100 years in federal prison on charges of writing prescriptions for opioids without a medical purpose, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Dr. Robert Tinoco Perez, 56, of Westminster, was arrested Friday on charges in a grand jury indictment handed down last week, according to Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Perez is accused of conspiring to operate the Santa Ana clinic to issue prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone, amphetamine salts, alprazolam and other drugs for profit, the indictment alleges. He is accused of meeting with “drug customers” to provide them prescriptions as well as co-defendant William Jason Plumley, 40, of Huntington Beach, and other “brokers.”

The alleged brokers would “create fictitious medical records for drug customers to provide pharmacies with justification for the drug customers’ prescriptions,” the indictment alleges.

Plumley and others would allegedly sell the prescriptions and drugs obtained from the prescriptions to “customers who were not using the drugs for legitimate medical purposes,” the indictment alleges.

Perez would receive a kickback from the drug sales, the indictment alleges.

Perez pleaded not guilty Friday and was ordered to stand trial Aug. 21.

Plumley was already in custody on a prior indictment alleging he sold methamphetamine, Mrozek said. He has an Oct. 23 trial date.