Christopher Lazenby, Narcotics Trafficking, California 2018

LOS ANGELES — A brazen scheme to obtain prescription medications to sell on the dark-net has landed a Riverside County man a life sentence in federal prison, or at least it will if he's convicted at his February 2020 sentencing hearing.

Christopher Lazenby, 29, of Homeland, pleaded guilty to two federal drug trafficking charges, one of which involves the theft of at least nine doctors’ DEA numbers and dates of birth that he used to obtain oxycodone and other prescription medications.

Lazenby’s scheme involved stealing the identities of at least nine doctors and one physician’s assistant, which allowed him to use the Drug Enforcement Administration’s online registration system to change the addresses of eight doctors to mailboxes he had rented in South Los Angeles and Carson. He changed the address of a ninth doctor to show his medical office was a room at a Motel 6 in Inglewood.

With official records showing new addresses for the doctors, Lazenby forged the doctors’ signatures on counterfeit prescriptions and ordered oxycodone, hydrocodone and Adderall to be sent to the addresses he controlled. He admitted to using the dark web and Craigslist to advertise the drugs for sale.

Law enforcement seized narcotics including 196 grams of methamphetamine, oxycodone pills, prescription pads in the names of the identity theft victim doctors, rubber stamps in the names of ID theft victim doctors, and computer equipment during searches of his hotel room and car.

Lazenby was arrested on October 3, 2018 at his hotel room in Torrance, which he had rented using an alias. His plea agreement has set the stage for a February 10, 2020 sentencing hearing, at which time he will face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin R. Barron will prosecute the case.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant Christopher Lazenby, exact criminal charges – Possessing with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Oxycodone, City and State – Los Angeles, California, Exact Date – October 3, 2018, Sentence or Outcome – Faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison at a February 10, 2020 sentencing hearing.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/inland-empire-man-pleads-guilty-federal-narcotics-charges-stealing-doctors-ids-obtain