The United States has initiated a civil lawsuit against Joan Rubinger, a nurse practitioner based in Stockton, for allegedly running a nationwide scheme to sell illegal opioid prescriptions. Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced the filing of the complaint, which seeks to prevent Rubinger from prescribing controlled substances and impose civil penalties for her alleged actions.
Court documents reveal that between November 1, 2019, and June 17, 2024, Rubinger traveled across various cities offering services ranging from intravenous flushes to prescriptions for controlled substances. Her practice reportedly involved only herself, a personal assistant, and a billing manager without any licensed physician's supervision or association. Meetings with customers often took place in non-medical settings like hotel rooms lacking necessary diagnostic tools and proper medical records.
The complaint alleges that Rubinger sold opioid prescriptions for cash through brief text exchanges on Telegram. Customers were provided with price lists to choose their prescriptions from drugs such as Oxycodone, Percocet, Xanax, and Adderall. It is claimed that she issued these prescriptions without examinations or medical records and wrote them under false names to conceal excessive quantities.
Rubinger is accused of instructing customers on how to appear legitimate medical patients despite knowing her conduct was illegal. She allegedly advised them on steps to avoid attracting attention from the DEA and required advance payment for prescriptions.
This case underscores the government's focus on combating opioid abuse. Tips can be reported to the DEA at 1-877-792-2873 or via their website.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Tennyson is handling the litigation with investigation support from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The allegations remain unproven as no liability determination has been made yet in United States v. Rubinger, 2:25-cv-00091-DAD-JDP (E.D. Cal.).