Doctor charged with lax prescribing

SAN DIEGO, May 1 (UPI) -- A Southern California doctor was so willing to write prescriptions for OxyContin that drug dealers sent homeless people to him as "patients," investigators say.

Dr. Masoud Bamdad of Granada Hills was indicted this week, the Los Angeles Times reported. He has been held without bail since his arrest April 17.

In court documents, federal prosecutors said that the investigation into Bamdad's practice ended prematurely when a 23-year-old patient died after being prescribed oxycodone.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents posed as patients, prosecutors said. They were given prescriptions for OxyContin and other painkillers after no or abbreviated physical examinations and even though they told the doctor their pain was minor or they wanted drugs for recreational use.

Bamdad was unaware that dealers were paying the homeless $100 and a free meal to get prescriptions, investigators said.