Former East Bay doctor gets year in federal prison
Parto Karimi is guilty of illegal drug distribution
A former East Bay doctor has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for improperly prescribing powerful opioids, according to authorities.
Parto Karimi, 59, of Alamo, pleaded guilty last July to one count of distributing hydrocodone outside the scope of professional practice, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release Monday.
Karimi practiced medicine from an accessory dwelling unit on the grounds of her home from roughly 2011 to 2022, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors.
She 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 practice, which operated under the name “Mindful Medicine.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration opened an investigation after it received “concerning information” from the family of one of Karimi's former patients, who had died, prosecutors said in the memo.
Agents found text messages on the former patient's phone that indicated Karimi had left prescriptions for her in an office mailbox without conducting any medical exams. A records review also revealed she had written 85 prescriptions totaling 8,789 pills for controlled substances including Norco and Adderall, according to prosecutors.
During one visit to the practice in October 2021, an undercover agent asked the doctor for 10-milligram Norco tablets based on a claim of leg pain resulting from work as a restaurant server.
Karimi instead wrote the undercover agent a prescription for 60 high-dose Norco pills without conducting a physical examination, asking follow-up questions about the reported pain, obtaining medical records, and exploring alternative treatment options or trying a lower dosage, prosecutors said, citing the doctor's plea agreement.
The doctor also admitted she knew the drug she prescribed was powerful and potentially addictive.
According to prosecutors, Karimi wrote medical prescriptions for opioids like Norco in exchange for street drugs including cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as cash payments. The doctor, for instance, charged the undercover agent $200 for the appointment.
Karimi's attorney, Robert J. Beles, asked the court to sentence his client to three years of probation, as recommended in a pre-sentence report.
“Dr. Karimi's case is a true personal tragedy,” Beles said a sentencing memorandum. “After years of study, hard work and dedication, Dr. Karimi's inappropriate conduct brings her before the court as a convicted felon with the loss of her medical license.”
The doctor, for her part, expressed remorse and took responsibility for her actions in a letter to the court. Karimi said she was “not in a sound mental state” at the time of the crime.
“I want to emphasize my commitment to the Hippocratic Oath and assure the court that I would never intentionally harm or compromise anyone,” she wrote. “The realization of the potential harm that could result from my actions has left me humiliated and devastated. I fully admit my wrongdoing and accept the gravity of the situation.”
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Jon S. Tigar ordered Karimi to serve three years of supervised release. Karimi was also ordered to surrender her California medical license and pay a fine of $4,000, prosecutors said.