Dr. William Matzner (Photo: Courtesy http://health.usnews.com/)
Ventura County – After nearly a full year of investigating the medical practice of Simi Valley internist Dr. William Matzner pursuant to ongoing reports that he was regularly prescribing excessive dosages of opiates and an assortment of painkillers, on April 20th the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit had accumulated sufficient evidence to charge Matzner with multiple crimes.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Victor Fazio, as early as May, 2015, multiple search warrants had been served on Matzner’s office and home.
At that time the doctor was stripped of his DEA registration and lost the ability to write prescriptions for controlled substances, as law enforcement in both California and Nevada suspected his offices were being used to provide inventory to illicit retail drug dealers.
With those suspicions running and evidence of illegal activity mounting, Fazio then issued a press release asking for public assistance in identifying any victims of Matzner or persons having knowledge of his illegal activities.
That information was apparently developed over the ensuing eleven months, as this week Fazio indicated that “Matzner’s office had become a source of supply for drug-seeking and drug-dealing patients.”
Pursuant to that determination, Matzner was arrested on two counts of furnishing controlled substances and two counts of unlawfully providing a controlled substance prescription. He reported for arraignment on those charges on April 20th, and is due back in court again on May 10, 2016.
Photo: Courtesy http://health.usnews.com/
