A physician pled guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge. He practices in San Gabriel Valley, a Southern California valley to the east of Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles Times.
Here are eight insights:
1. Daniel Cham, MD, pled guilty to one count of distribution of oxycodone and one count of money laundering.
2. In March 2004, an undercover agent posed as a patient, and Dr. Cham illegally prescribed him oxycodone in exchange for $300 in money orders. The physician then deposited the money orders into a bank account, which was under another business' name.
3. The plea agreement states Dr. Cham went through with the deposit "knowing that the transaction was designed to conceal and disguise the nature and source of the money orders."
4. The indictment centers on those prescriptions Cham wrote at different locations such as his medical offices in La Puente and Artesia, both in California.
5. In March 2014, investigators searched 13 locations in addition to Dr. Cham's residence and medical offices.
6. In one year, Dr. Cham issued more than 5,500 prescriptions for controlled substances. Since July 2010, he issued more than 42,000 prescriptions, according to the affidavit.
7. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and agreed to forfeit more than $60,000 in cash to the government. Dr. Cham conceded the cash he will forfeit are "proceeds of his illegal activity."
8. U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson scheduled an April 4 hearing for Dr. Cham to enter his guilty plea.
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