Encino Doctor Pleads No Contest to Illegitimately Selling Narcotics

A 69-year-old Encino doctor who prescribed and sold narcotics without a legitimate reason pleaded no contest today to 11 criminal counts, including selling hydrocodone to undercover agents.

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Dr. Yahya Hedvat was charged in two separate cases. The first was the result of a 10-count indictment issued in October 2013, accusing him of unlawfully prescribing the drugs hydrocodone, clonazepam and suboxone.

While out on bail in August, Hedvat, who ran an urgent care clinic, negotiated the sale of narcotics to an undercover investigator, prompting his second arrest, according to prosecutors.

Undercover agents said they bought drugs, including Norco and Ativan, in the clinic’s parking lot from Hedvat’s office assistant, Nikravan Hormuz, 70.

Hormuz pleaded no contest today to one count of being an accessory after the fact. He was immediately sentenced to three years probation by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dennis Landin.

Hedvat, who has already surrendered his federal license to prescribe controlled substances, is set to be sentenced Jan. 22, when he will face up to 13 years in custody.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.

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