Ohio Psychiatrist Karipenini Prasad Sentenced for Illegal Prescriptions

March 3, 2022

A veteran Valley psychiatrist who gave up his license to practice medicine for illegally prescribing drugs has been sentenced to six months’ probation.

The sentencing came Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for 81-year old Karipenini Prasad. 

The 81-year-old former Canfield psychiatrist, who pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal processing of drug documents, is now residing in assisted living in another state according to court officials.

According to a document filed with the Ohio Medical Board, Prasad voluntarily agreed to a permanent revocation of his medical license which he held for 40 years.

An indictment handed up by the Mahoning County Grand Jury accused Prasad of making false statements and failing to keep a file on Benzodiazepine prescribed to a patient in 2014 and 2015.

According to the National Institutes of Health, in 2019, 16 percent of overdose deaths involving opioids also involved benzodiazepines, a type of prescription sedative commonly prescribed for anxiety or to help with insomnia.

Source: Mike Gauntner, “Former Canfield psychiatrist sentenced in drug case,” WFMJ News 21 (Youngstown, OH), Feb. 23, 2022, URL: https://www.wfmj.com/story/45932284/former-canfield-psychiatrist-sentenced-in-drug-case