STOCKTON, Calif. — A Stockton nurse practitioner has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle allegations that she violated the Controlled Substances Act on at least 900 occasions, according to U.S. Attorney Eric Grant. Joan Rubinger allegedly dispensed controlled substances without any legitimate medical purpose and outside the course of professional practice.
Federal officials say that Rubinger sold prescriptions for controlled substances to people who were not her legitimate medical patients. Rubinger had not established a bona fide medical provider relationship with these people, or she failed to identify and document a legitimate medical need for controlled substances.
“We remain unwavering in our commitment to hold health care providers accountable when they violate their duty to properly prescribe controlled substances,” Grant said. “Our community has the right to trust that providers will prescribe these drugs only within the usual course of professional practice and only in accord with the law.”…