LOS ANGELES (CN) - Anna Nicole Smith's attorney and companion Howard K. Stern and two doctors were accused Thursday of giving the former Playboy playmate "thousands of prescription pills" before her drug overdose in 2007, the California attorney general's office announced.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown accuses doctors Khristine Eroshevich and Sandeep Kapoor of falsifying prescriptions and giving Smith "unwarranted amounts and combinations of highly addictive medications," including opiates, benzodiazapines and other drugs over a 3-year period. He also says Stern acted as the go-between.
"These individuals repeatedly and excessively furnished thousands of prescription pills to Anna Nicole Smith, often for no legitimate medical purpose," Brown said in a statement. "There is ample evidence that Eroshevich and Kapoor violated their ethical obligations as physicians, while Stern funneled highly addictive drugs to Smith."
The 11 charges capped a year-long investigation between California and federal authorities, who claimed to have reviewed over 100,000 computer images, texts and pharmacy logs, and interviewed dozens of witnesses.
Smith was 39 when she died Feb. 8, 2007 in a hotel room in Hollywood, Fla. Five months earlier, her 20-year-old son died in her hospital room after Smith gave birth to daughter Dannielynn.
Although Stern claimed to be the girl's father, a Bahamian court later determined from DNA evidence that photographer Larry Birkhead was the actual father.
Smith made headlines in 1994 when she married billionaire J. Howard Marshall, who was 63 years her senior.
Wrangling over her claim that Marshall promised her half of his $1.6 billion estate before he died reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which in May 2006 unanimously decided in Smith's favor. The decision did not give Smith a portion of the estate, but affirmed her right to pursue it in federal court.
Smith and Stern held an informal commitment ceremony in the Bahamas in September 2006. The two also co-starred in "The Anna Nicole Show," from 2002-2004 on E!
Bail for Stern and the doctors was recommended at $20,000 for each.
Officials plan to hold a news conference Friday morning at 10 a.m. to discuss the charges.
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