Former Falls Church doctor Robert Cao pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to unlawfully distributing opioids that contributed to a 2021 overdose death in Fairfax.
Cao was formerly licensed to practice in both Virginia and D.C. He pleaded guilty to five felony counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance outside the scope of his professional practice, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
At least five times in 2021, Cao prescribed oxycodone and hydrocodone, both opiates, to a man identified in court as “V.C.”
V.C. would go on to die from acute oxycodone and ethanol poisoning after consuming both the pills as well as alcohol.
Cao provided the narcotics “without having any doctor-patient relationship with him, without any physical examination, diagnosis, or treatment plan, and knowing that the victim had no medical condition that would necessitate such prescriptions,” according to prosecutors.
Text messages used in court filings detailed a deal between Cao and V.C. Cao would receive some of the pills included in the prescription as a kickback.
The messages that set up the arrangement began as early as Dec. 27, 2020, according to the D.C. Department of Health’s notice to Cao announcing the suspension of his license. The first prescription was filed in January 2021.
“I know you’re a percs fan. I’m a norcos fan myself. We can do 50\50 each or you can keep all the percs and I can keep all the norcos,” Cao wrote to V.C. in one message, according to the D.C. Department of Health.
“Percs” refers to the oxycodone brand-name pill Percocets, which were found on V.C.’s nightstand by authorities investigating his overdose. “Norcos” refer to hydrocodone pills, which include brand names like “Vicodin.”
Other messages arranged “meetings between the two, including a meeting in a parking lot on the night before the man’s death so Cao could get a portion of the narcotic pills from ‘V.C.’,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Cao’s actions to hide this illicit drug dealing from authorities included hiding his prescription pad inside a container that resembled a diary.
On May 31, 2021, V.C. was found at his Fairfax residence cold and non-responsive by his girlfriend. First responders pronounced him dead under suspicious circumstances.
Authorities found a prescription bottle, filled on Cao’s orders on May 23, full of the “percs” that V.C. had been promised.
After learning of V.C.’s death, Cao “created fraudulent backdated medical records to make it appear that Cao had provided legitimate prescriptions to the victim,” the U.S. attorney’s office wrote.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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