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| | Gonzalo Flores Ruiz, M.D. of Central Valley Occupational Medical Group in Bakersfield, California, Pleads Guilty To Distributing Addictive Pain Killer For No Legitimate Medical Purpose
By Lonce LaMon - October 4, 2012
Dr. Gonzalo Flores Ruiz, a 48-year-old physician who practiced medicine at Central Valley Occupational Medical Group in Bakersfield, California, pled guilty on Monday, September 24th 2012 to charges of distributing a controlled substance before the U.S. Eastern District Court of California.
Between April of 2009 and October of 2011, Dr. Ruiz prescribed and distributed the painkiller hydrocodone for no legitimate medical purpose, according to the court.
On October 17th 2011, it was reported by adjustercom that Central Valley Occupational Medical was ostensibly raided by the F.B.I. In that report, this writer reported that Cathy Head of Irene Sanchez, M.D.’s office in Bakersfield, said the F.B.I. was not at Irene Sanchez’s office as had been suggested by rumors, but at the office behind Sanchez’s office which was Central Valley Occupational Medical Group at 4100 Truxtan Avenue.
It took nearly one year for a guilty plea from Dr. Ruiz to come to bear since the search of the Central Valley Occupational Medical Group office. This case came together as a result of a cooperative investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Department of Health Care Services Investigations, and the Medical Board of California.
Dr. Ruiz is scheduled for sentencing on December 3rd 2012 before Chief U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. His actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Hydrocodone is sold generically and also under a variety of brand names, such as Vicodin, Vicoprofen, Lortab, Lorcet, and Norco. It is a painkiller and an addictive prescription narcotic.
At this time, Central Valley Occupational Medical Group maintains a rather archaic and less-than-basic web site that contains poor formatting and little artistry. It’s at www.cvomg.com. It states that Central Valley Occupational Medical Group was opened in July of the year 2000, and then states later on in its narrative that “over our seven year history” they’ve had the pleasure of serving a wide variety of industries in the Kern County area. This can only mean that this anachronistic web site was created five years ago and nothing in terms of web development has been done since.
Dr. Gonzalo Flores Ruiz is not presently listed on this web site as a physician. The physicians now listed are Michael E. Davies, M.D., Kamal Eldrageely, M.D., and Richard Sall, M.D.
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