Federal Jury Finds Two Tampa Doctors Guilty Of Conspiracy To Illegally Distribute Opoids

Tampa, Florida – A federal jury has found Dr. Kendrick Eugene Duldulao (45, Tampa) and Dr. Medardo Queg Santos (66, Lakeland) guilty of conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the course of professional practice. Santos was also found guilty of three counts of illegally distributing and dispensing controlled substances. Duldulao and Santos each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count.       

Duldulao and Santos were indicted on October 3, 2017.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Duldulao and Santos were the medical directors at Health and Pain Center, a pain management clinic in Tampa, from June 2011 through March 2014, and April 2014 through October 2016, respectively. They prescribed excessive amounts of controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, morphine, methadone, and alprazolam. During their tenures as medical directors, Duldulao and Santos had brief and timed medical visits with patients, performed cursory physical examinations, and required minimal medical history or documentation for purposes of treatment. Duldulao and Santos knew that patients’ records were, at times, falsified for purposes of papering the files. Duldulao, Santos, and their co-conspirators operated Health and Pain Center as a cash-only business, with little or no medical equipment on site, staffers with no medical training, and a high-volume patient base.   

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Gregory D. Pizzo.