Ventura County – Pursuant to an investigation over the past three years into the activities of Terry Stanger, M.D., on January 25th the Ventura County District Attorney indicted the doctor on no less than 15 felony counts associated with his alleged money laundering and drug dealing.
Dr. Stanger, 67, has been under the watchful eye of the Ventura County Combined Agency Taskforce, comprised of narcotics investigators across the entire roster of law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit. According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Capt. Don Aguilar’s report to the media, “the main mission of the unit is to stem the flow of prescription medication to the illegal market.”
It was just such suspected activity that ultimately led the Taskforce to present their findings to the D.A., alleging that Stanger has a history of over-prescribing opiates, and other controlled medications without any reasonable medical purpose. According to Fazio, there is ample evidence that Stanger was sending medications throughout the U.S. and Europe, and that detectives has seized “over 25,000 pills of highly addictive medication that were sold or destined for sale outside the scope of normal professional practice.” Along with the contraband pharmaceuticals, Stanger was also found to in possession of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash that is suspected to be the product of illegal drug sales.
In addition to the physical evidence collected, Aguilar also reported that “there are several overdoses that resulted in death that we believe are related to his overprescribing of medication of these highly addictive drugs.”
Stanger remains free on his own recognizance, with his Ventura County Superior Court arraignment currently scheduled for February 19, 2014.
Photo: Courtesy www.health.usnews.com
Read more:
CBS Los Angeles: Agoura Hills doctor accused of alleged drug dealing, money laundering
ABC7: Ventura doctor accused of over-prescribing meds
