Chesapeake Doctor Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Drug Distribution

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake doctor pleaded guilty today to distribution of amphetamine.

According to court documents, Lopito Bugarin, 65, was a medical doctor with a practice in Chesapeake. From 2016 until 2019, Bugarin would write prescriptions without administering a medical exam. Bugarin would also write prescriptions for Adderall and Oxycodone in multiple names and give them to a single patient. For example, Bugarin would write prescriptions for a patient and for a friend or family member of the patient who had not seen Bugarin that day. Bugarin also provided prescriptions to patients for Schedule II controlled substances without ever seeing the patient, even during time periods where Bugarin was out of town.

Bugarin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 2, 2021. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and Col. K.L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin P. Hudson is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-25.