Physician Naga Raja Thota, a board certified anesthesiologist who works as a pain-control specialist with an office in El Cajon, was arrested and charged with distributing oxycodone and other highly addictive drugs without any legitimate medical purpose in exchange for sex acts. He has been licensed to practice in California since 1994.
The doctor was taken into custody by San Diego Drug Enforcement Administration agents at his place of work.
The criminal complaint said at least two young women received prescriptions for opioids without a legitimate medical purpose on numerous occasions in exchange for sex acts. The complaint also shows a pattern in which sexually-explicit texts are exchanged by the doctor and the women, followed by prescriptions written for them by Thota.
According to the complaint, one victim said she met Thota when she was hospitalized for withdrawal symptoms for Hydrocodone and Alprazolam. Thota agreed to treat her but documented that his treatment was for pain even though this victim did not suffer from any medical condition that caused chronic or ongoing pain. This victim also stated that Thota kept increasing the dosage.
This victim, who was twenty years old when she met Thota, said she felt that if she did not submit to sexual acts with Thota he would not have provided her with additional opioid prescriptions. After being exposed to greater dosage levels of opioids by Thota, the young woman started using an even stronger opioid – heroin.
About a dozen potential new victims have come forward following the arrest according to Amy Roderick of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Roderick said she could provide no details on those individuals or their allegations
Thota’s arrest came at the conclusion of a several-year investigation Officials said he is accused of prescribing the alleged victims, ranging in age from early 20s to early 30s, various narcotics, including hydrocodone, methadone and oxycodone, and using his access to the narcotics a way to pressure them into sex acts.
During his arraignment, Assistant U.S. Attorney Orlando Gutierrez said a 20-year-old patient of Thota’s reported that the doctor upped the dosage of a prescription she was taking without telling her and that she felt she couldn’t get more of it unless she had sex with the defendant.
Another woman threatened to take allegations of abuse to the DEA, and Thota paid her money not to do so, the prosecutor alleged.
And this is not his first run-in with authorities. In 2014 the California Medical Board accusation claimed that he committed gross negligence in his care and treatment of patients. The specific allegations say he prescribed increasing doses of opiates to patients without any clear positive response. In November 2015 Thota entered into a stipulated settlement and disciplinary order which provided for the revocation of his license, however the revocation was stayed and he was placed on seven years probation with restrictions. He was therefore on probation when this current arrest was made.
“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.”
“Doctors who exploit patients are the worst kind of predators.” said DEA San Diego Special Agent in Charge William Sherman. “DEA recognizes the trust the citizens of San Diego place in their doctors. We will continue to ensure that physicians who are abusing that trust by bartering sex for prescriptions will be arrested and prosecuted.”
If anyone has information regarding other victims or if you believe you were victimized by Dr. Thota, we urge you to contact DEA at (858) 616-4100 and ask for the Diversion Duty Agent.
Under Title 21, United States Code, Section 841, and Title 21, United States Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1306.04(a), a medical doctor may not prescribe a controlled substance unless there is a legitimate medical purpose.