SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Doctor Roberto F. Unda-Gómez (Unda) with dispensing controlled substances without any legitimate medical purpose. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are in charge of the investigation of the case.
According to court documents, Unda is a general practitioner medical doctor licensed to practice in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Honduras, not in the continental United States. The defendant knowingly and intentionally dispensed and distributed Schedule II and IV controlled substances such as Adderall, Oxycodone, and Xanax without any legitimate medical purpose, to patients in Puerto Rico and in the continental United States. Unda used FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service shipping and delivery services to distribute the controlled substances.
“The Department of Justice continues to fight the deadly opioids epidemic, which kills thousands each year in the United States and Puerto Rico,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “The defendant broke both his professional duty and the law by selling prescriptions for addictive opioids for individuals he never examined who had no medical need for the drugs.”
Unda is charged with seven counts for dispensing controlled substances by a practitioner, and three counts for the use of a communication facility to facilitate the commission of a felony. The defendant is scheduled for his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marshal D. Morgan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. If convicted, Unda faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay S. Rehrig is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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