SoCal Doctor Gets 11 Years

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - An Orange County doctor was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in federal prison after admitting he prescribed addictive drugs to patients he "barely examined" during meetings at Starbucks, prosecutors said.

Alvin Mingczech Yee, 44, of Mission Viejo, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison.

Yee pleaded guilty in April to seven counts of illegal distribution of a controlled substance by a practitioner, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement announcing the sentence. He admitted that he prescribed drugs, such as oxycodone and alprazolam, "while intentionally acting outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose."

Unfortunately for Yee, three of the patients to whom he prescribed drugs were undercover agents. He wrote them prescriptions for OxyContin, Vicodin and Xanax after nighttime meetings at Starbucks, prosecutors said.

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