Former Antelope Valley Doctor Sentenced to More Than 3 Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Issuing Prescriptions During Telehealth Sessions

LOS ANGELES – A former Antelope Valley physician was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for illegally dispensing prescriptions for often-abused controlled substances – including opioid-based medications – during telemedicine sessions with “patients” from across the United States.

Raphael Tomas Malikian, 39, who resides in Llano and Palmdale, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who also ordered him to pay a fine of $20,000.

Malikian pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of aiding and abetting the acquisition of a controlled substance by fraud and one count of distribution of oxycodone.

The Medical Board of California suspended Malikian’s medical license in November 2021. His license expired in November 2022.

From at least December 2019 to August 2021, Malikian was a licensed physician in California and, in this role, was authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe medication. Malikian also owned and operated Happy Family Medicine, a medical clinic that was advertised as being in a co-working space in the Hollywood, but primarily offered telehealth services via telephone or text message communications.

Malikian issued prescriptions for controlled substances to customers without first obtaining the person’s full medical history, conducting a physical examination, requiring medical testing, or utilizing diagnostic tools. Malikian did not verify his customers’ identities before prescribing controlled substances, and he allowed customers to obtain prescriptions in the names of others.

He also worked with two co-conspirators, who provided Malikian with false names, addresses, dates of birth, and Malikian issued controlled substance prescriptions accordingly, which the co-conspirators then filled and re-sold on the black market.

Many of Malikian’s fraudulent controlled substance prescriptions contained notes on the prescriptions or accompanying documentation that falsely urged pharmacies not to verify such prescriptions because medications were emergently needed and the failure to dispense could be life threatening because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malikian issued hundreds of false prescriptions for liquid promethazine with codeine during this period – including to people he knew were fictitious patients and which totaled more than 82 liters – and directed them to be sent to various pharmacies across the nation for co-conspirators to obtain.

From April to July of 2020, Malikian prescribed to a buyer 702 pills of 10 milligrams oxycodone and 240 milliliters of promethazine with codeine. The customer, in fact, was an undercover law enforcement officer. Malikian issued each prescription to this buyer without conducting proper medical evaluations or verifying the buyer’s identity and was performed outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.

In addition, from May to July of 2020, Malikian prescribed to a customer – who also was an undercover law enforcement officer – 234 pills of the painkiller Norco, which contained a total of 2,340 milligrams of the opioid hydrocodone, and 180 pills of alprazolam, an anxiety medication sold under the brand name Xanax. Once again, Malikian issued each prescription to this buyer without conducting proper medical evaluations or verifying the buyer’s identity and was performed outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.

“Considering the nature and circumstances of these offenses, there is no question that [Malikian’s] criminal conduct is serious and that the scope of [his] diversion scheme was expansive,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “The amount of drugs that [Malikian] prescribed without any medical justification is substantial and contributed to this country’s opioid crisis.”

The DEA investigated this matter. The California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse provided substantial assistance.

Assistant United States Attorney Brittney M. Harris of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section prosecuted this case.