San Jose doctor convicted of illegally prescribing opioids

SAN JOSE — A San Jose physician has been found guilty of illegally prescribing painkillers to patients, including one who overdosed twice, according to federal prosecutors.

Donald Siao, 58, was convicted of 12 counts of distributing opioids outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Friday. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman scheduled Siao’s sentencing for Nov. 7.

Investigators zeroed in on Siao after a review of a state database showed he had written 8,201 prescriptions between May 2016 and May 2017, according to prosecutors.

Over the course of 17 visits, four law enforcement agents posing as patients were prescribed increasing quantities of oxycodone and hydrocodone, prosecutors said. The agents received the prescriptions despite complaining of only vague pain or discomfort, requesting specific opioids by name and admitting to sharing the pills with others.

The visits often lasted no more than a few minutes and involved little to no physical examination, according to prosecutors.

Siao also doled out “dangerous opioids” to two patients, a mother and son, and continued to do so after both repeatedly claimed their pills had been lost or stolen, prosecutors said, adding that he was aware the mother had been jailed for selling pills and the son had overdosed twice. The mother eventually died of an opioid overdose.

In November 2018, Siao admitted to investigators he was aware of the California Medical Board’s guidelines for prescribing painkillers, according to prosecutors. He also admitted during the weeklong trial that he had been taught about the dangers of addiction and how to identify drug-seeking patients.

Of the 12 counts, eight were related to the mother and son and the rest to the law enforcement agents posing as patients.