San Jose doctor arrested for alleged illegal opioid prescription scheme

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A South Bay doctor was arrested Friday and charged with several felonies related to an alleged illegal opioid prescription scheme, according to the California Attorney General's Office.   

Dr. Arash Padidar, a radiologist with offices in San Jose, is alleged to have engaged in a two-year scheme starting in 2018 to illegally acquire hydrocodone by writing fake prescriptions for himself, his wife and his father, using another doctor's prescription information.   

Padidar would allegedly write the prescriptions and have various other people pick them up at pharmacies in and around San Jose, according to prosecutors.   

"When a bad actor exploits their position for personal gain, they not only shatter our trust, they harm vulnerable patients," Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release Friday.   

Padidar's alleged activity was uncovered when an employee who had helped with the scheme came forward a month or two after being fired by the doctor in 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed with Santa Clara County Superior Court.   

The charges against him include obtaining opioids by fraud, issuing prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose, forging and issuing a prescription, unlawful use of personal information and conspiracy to commit a crime.   

He is being held in Santa Clara County Jail on $100,000 bail.