Anesthesiologist Pleads Guilty to Prescribing Painkillers for Sex

Monday, December 5, 2016 | 1

A Southern California doctor pleaded guilty to distributing controlled drugs without a legitimate purpose and admitted to providing opioids to two patients in exchange for sex, according to a report by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Naga Raja Thota, 62, admitted to prescribing 870 oxycodone pills and 300 hydrocodone pills to a woman identified as “J.S.” He also admitted to having a sexual relationship with J.S. and another patient in 2013 and 2014, the Union-Tribune reports.

Thota’s Nov. 29 plea agreement is not publicly available through the federal court’s online records system, and it’s not clear from other documents what sentence prosecutors will seek in light of the deal. A filing submitted on Nov. 30 states that sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 21, but does not including information about possible fines or incarceration.

When Thota was arrested in August, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said he faced up to 20 years in custody and $1 million in fines if convicted on all charges.