Key facts
- Joan Rubinger, a nurse practitioner specializing in pain relief for athletes, is accused of illegally prescribing opioids.
- The DEA revoked Rubinger's authority to prescribe opioids.
- Rubinger settled a civil complaint for $1.4 million, agreeing to never prescribe controlled substances again.
- Authorities allege Rubinger dispensed 260,000 pills containing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose over four years.
- Rubinger's clients reportedly included NFL, NBA, WNBA, and Olympic athletes, as well as members of a street gang.
Joan Rubinger, a nurse practitioner who specialized in pain relief for elite athletes, is facing scrutiny for allegedly distributing thousands of illegal prescriptions for highly addictive painkillers. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has revoked Rubinger's ability to prescribe opioids, citing "egregious conduct." This action followed Rubinger's agreement in March to pay $1.4 million to settle a parallel Justice Department civil complaint. The complaint accused her of dispensing controlled substances like Oxycodone, Percocet, and Xanax on hundreds of occasions without any legitimate medical purpose, a scheme she allegedly likened to selling fast food.
Over a four-year period, federal authorities stated Rubinger prescribed 260,000 pills containing controlled substances to patients in more than 20 states. Court filings unsealed at the request of The Associated Press reveal new details about the alleged scheme, which authorities claim expanded from professional athletes to include members of an Ohio-based street gang, a confessed New Jersey drug trafficker, and a New York City model. Rubinger allegedly took steps to evade DEA suspicion by coaching clients over an encrypted messaging app on how to avoid having their prescriptions flagged by pharmacies.
Among her notable patients were NBA All Stars Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, and MLB All Star Fernando Tatis Jr. The DEA also detailed how two former athletes received illicit prescriptions, including former All-Pro Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, who allegedly received over 13,000 Oxycodone and Percocet pills between November 2019 and March 2024. Davis's wife reportedly alerted the agency to Rubinger's activities. A former reserve NBA guard and his wife also allegedly paid Rubinger more than $50,000 for illicit prescriptions after he left the league.
Rubinger's representative, Erick Mullen, stated that the case was a civil action, not criminal, and cited medical privacy laws. He also noted that no administrative or disciplinary actions had been taken by nursing boards in California and New York, where she is licensed. Mullen suggested that threats and intimidation from certain individuals may have influenced Rubinger's actions. Federal prosecutors declined to comment on why criminal charges were not pursued, despite accusing Rubinger of violating federal drug statutes and regulations numerous times. Retired DEA investigator James Rafalski expressed surprise that the case did not result in criminal prosecution, given Rubinger's alleged efforts to evade detection. U.S. Attorney Eric Grant stated that the financial penalty and ban on prescribing controlled substances provide significant public protection.