A physician who operated clinics in Santa Ana and Inglewood pleaded guilty Friday to writing prescriptions for opioids to undercover officers.
Dr. John Michael Korzelius of Camarillo, 72, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 4.
Starting in 2017 and through Jan. 30, 2020, Korzelius participated in a conspiracy with others to peddle oxycodone without a medical purpose, according to his plea agreement.
On Nov. 14, 2019, Korzelius wrote a prescription for 60 30 mg oxycodone pills at a clinic in Inglewood to a patient, who was actually an undercover law enforcement agent, according to the plea agreement. Korzelius did not examine the sham patient and advised him to not fill the prescription at a large pharmacy like Walmart or CVS, according to the plea deal.
On Dec. 19, 2019, also at the Inglewood clinic, he wrote another prescription for 60 30mg oxycodone pills for the undercover officer, according to the plea deal.
On Jan. 30, 2020, at the Inglewood clinic, he wrote the same prescription for the oxycodone pills to another undercover officer, according to the plea deal.
Korzelius dispensed illegitimate prescriptions for a total of 104.5 grams and 149 grams of oxycodone, including the ones to the undercover officers, according to the plea deal.
The doctor worked for ChiroMed, a group of clinics in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, prosecutors said. The pain management clinics have offices in Santa Ana, Fontana, Huntington Park, Redondo Beach and Inglewood.