Physician Edmund Kemprud, 78, of Dublin, was found guilty of 14 counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other controlled substances patients. Medical Board records show that he was a 1973 graduate of the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine. He has been licensed in California since 1974. He stipulated to the surrender of his license effective October 25, 2021, and is no longer licensed in California.

According to evidence presented at trial, Kemprud worked in several locations around the East Bay and Central Valley, including one location in a back room of a nail salon and medi-spa in Tracy.

Evidence at trial showed that Kemprud prescribed highly addictive, commonly abused prescription drugs, including Hydrocodone, Alprazolam, and Oxycodone – outside the usual course of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purpose.

He ignored indications that his patients were addicts or that they were diverting the drugs. Instead, he wrote more prescriptions for highly addictive and dangerous controlled substances, charging $79 a visit. He churned out prescriptions so quickly that he often spent less than five minutes with a patient and would see 30 patients in less than a day.

Several pharmacies were so troubled by Kemprud’s prescriptions that they instituted companywide policies to block his prescriptions.

Trial testimony of undercover officers established that on 14 occasions between Sept. 6, 2018, and March 13, 2019, Kemprud prescribed opioids without determining the patients’ medical and prescription histories, without conducting a proper medical examination, without confirming the legitimacy of the patients’ complaints, and without assessing the risk of aberrant drug behavior.

“This defendant displayed a blatant disregard for patient safety and the law,” Acting U.S. Attorney Talbert said. “Although he knew his treatment of patients was unlawful, he continued to pump dangerous drugs into the community. It took the effort of agents, investigators, undercover officers, medical professionals who practiced with the defendant and pharmacists to bring an end to Kemprud’s illicit prescription writing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue our vigorous pursuit of those who fuel the opioid epidemic for their own personal benefit.”

This case is the product of an investigation by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse Drug Diversion Team, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica M.A. Alegría and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Artuz are prosecuting the case.

Kemprud is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 14, 2022, by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb. Kemprud faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison.