Psychiatrist Robert T. Perez's Accomplice Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Charges

October 12, 2018

A Huntington Beach man accused of conspiring with a Santa Ana psychiatrist to sell prescription opioids pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal drug-distribution charges.

William Jason Plumley, 41, during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana, accepted a plea deal requiring him to admit to federal charges of distributing methamphetamine and conspiring to distribute controlled substances.

Federal prosecutors said that Plumley operated as a broker for Dr. Robert Tinoco Perez, a Westminster resident and operator of a Santa Ana clinic who was accused earlier this year in a grand jury indictment of issuing prescriptions of drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, amphetamine salts and alprazolam for profit.

According to the indictment, Perez and Plumley created fake medical records so pharmacies would issue prescriptions and that could be used to “maintain the appearance” of legitimate patient files. Prosecutors also allege Perez gave Plumley and others prescriptions in the names of people he had never met or examined, knowing they would be sold.

In return, prosecutors allege, Perez got a kickback from the drug sales.

In his written plea agreement, Plumley said he obtained the prescriptions from Perez, selling them for cash and sharing the proceeds with the doctor. In a separate criminal case, he also admitted to selling methamphetamine.

Plumley is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on Dec. 13. Perez is awaiting trial.

Source: “Huntington Beach man pleads guilty to helping Santa Ana psychiatrist sell prescription opioids,” Orange County Register, October 9, 2018, URL: https://bit.ly/2On2Xge