Crime & Safety

Encino Doctor Indicted For Unlawful Prescription and Sale of Narcotic Drugs

Yahya Hedvat, 68, faces charges in a grand jury indictment.

A grand jury indictment unsealed Friday charges an Encino doctor with prescribing and selling narcotic drugs without a legitimate reason.

Yahya Hedvat, 68, pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts of unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance, including hydrocodone and clonazepam, and two counts of sale/offer to sell/transportation of a controlled substance.

Hedvat had been charged with the same counts in a case filed in August in which he had been awaiting a hearing to determine if there was enough evidence to require him to stand trial. That case was dismissed as a result of the indictment.

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Hedvat, an internal medicine specialist who runs an Encino medical clinic called “Urgent Care,'' is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court for a hearing next Friday.

When Hedvat was charged in August, Deputy District Attorney John Niedermann alleged the doctor prescribed various narcotic drugs to undercover California Medical Board agents without performing proper examinations or prescribing the drugs for a legitimate medical purpose.

Find out what's happening in Encino-Tarzanawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The indictment alleges that the crimes occurred between August 2012 and March 2013.


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