Court today for doctor suspected of prescription drug fraud

RIVERSIDE, CA. - A Coachella Valley-area physician accused of stealing patients' identities and faking other doctors' signatures to obtain thousands of prescription painkillers is slated to be arraigned Wednesday in Riverside County Superior Court.

Dr. Lisa Michelle Barden, 39, is charged with 276 felonies, including burglary, forgery, identity theft and being in possession of controlled substances. She has been free on bail.

The obstetrician-gynecologist was arrested in January following a yearlong investigation headed by the California Department of Justice.

According to investigators, between February 2007 and December 2008, Barden illegally acquired more than 30,000 pills, primarily Vicodin and OxyContin.

It's unclear whether the doctor had a physical impairment that required painkillers at any point during that time.

The Rancho Cucamonga woman worked at several Palm Springs medical clinics and allegedly used the identities of 15 patients to fill prescriptions allegedly written out on other doctors' drug pads -- allegedly with the forged signatures of the victimized physicians, according to authorities.

Barden visited 43 pharmacies on 131 occasions to get her drugs, according to an investigation by the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.
The mother of three became the focus of an investigation after several pharmacists alleged Barden was showing up to retrieve prescriptions under different names. Several pharmacists apparently turned her away.

Barden is also being investigated for allegedly filing a false workers' compensation claim which paid out $62,000.

The defendant was last employed at the Bright Women's Center in Whittier.

Barden could have her medical license suspended, depending on the outcome of hearings by the state Medical Board, authorities said.

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