LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A Rancho Palos Verdes doctor convicted of illegally prescribing medications to undercover operatives working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was sentenced today to three years in county jail. Dr. Richard Seongjun Kim, 44, also was ordered to serve two years under mandatory supervision once he is released from jail, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Kim was convicted Sept. 20 of 17 felony counts of unlawfully prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical need.
He was taken into custody immediately after the jury’s verdict. Deputy District Attorney Emily Street said Kim would ask the operatives to bring in prior medical charts and X-rays to justify the prescriptions. In one instance, an operative brought in an X-ray of a dog to his clinic on Western Avenue. Over a three-month period in 2014, the general practitioner wrote the operatives prescriptions for the pain medication Norco, anti-anxiety medication Xanax, muscle relaxant Soma and central nervous system stimulant Adderall without conducting a physical exam, taking any vital signs or completing any medical charts, according to prosecutors. The case against Kim was filed last year.