Dr. Rudolph Puana found guilty of dealing opioids

The drug distribution conviction of a Hawaii island pain doctor sends a “strong message” to physicians who are illegally diverting opioids and fueling a deadly nationwide epidemic, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Dr. Rudolph B. Puana, 50, of Waimea was found guilty in federal court Wednesday of 38 counts of distributing and dispensing oxycodone, one count of distributing or dispensing fentanyl “outside the course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose,” and conspiracy to distribute or dispense the drugs.

Puana, an anesthesiologist and pain doctor, distributed more than 7,810 oxycodone pills worth more than $117,000 to friends so they could sell them to pay for their children’s tuition at Hawaii Preparatory Academy and to buy cocaine to use together, according to federal prosecutors.

He also falsified handwritten medical records and treatment narratives for his friends and their family members, including drug tests that never happened.

In addition to faking the Puana Pain Clinic’s files for the recipients of his prescriptions, Puana kept a spiral-­bound notebook hidden in the clinic’s drug closet to conceal his multiyear addiction to hydrocodone, or “Skittles” as he called them.

“The unlawful diversion of prescription drugs is one of the most serious problems plaguing our communities, and it is fueling the opioid epidemic that is ravaging families across the country,” said Randy S. Grossman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, in a statement. “The conviction of a pain doctor abusing his power and position to distribute highly addictive and dangerous oxycodone and fentanyl sends a strong message to any medical professional acting outside the regular course of practice and prescribing opioids without a legitimate medical need.”

On Wednesday, Puana, wearing a gray suit, sat between his attorneys, facing U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Michael Seabright while the jury read the verdict. The decision came a day after closing arguments in the case.

Citing Puana’s ample financial resources, Seabright ordered that he be detained at the Federal Detention Center Honolulu ahead of his scheduled sentencing Sept. 12. Puana embraced his wife outside the courtroom before surrendering to U.S. marshals.

Puana’s attorney, F. Clinton Broden, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that no decision has been made whether to appeal the conviction. “We are, of course, disappointed with the verdict,” he said in a statement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Orabona and the special prosecutor leading the investigation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Wheat, declined to comment outside the courtroom Wednesday.

Each count of distributing or dispensing oxycodone or fentanyl, and the conspiracy charge, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Puana pleaded guilty March 29 to a single count of being a drug addict in possession of seven firearms, a charge that carries a maximum term of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Puana is the brother of imprisoned former Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to using her position as a deputy prosecutor to protect Puana from an HPD drug investigation. Kealoha did not testify at his trial as expected.

“Today’s guilty verdict is a testament that no doctor should use his license to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and falsify medical records to conceal his crimes,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Honolulu Division Steven Merrill in a statement. “The FBI will continue to work with our partners to hold those who abuse their positions of trust accountable, and to protect the public.”

Grossman lauded Wheat, Orabona, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colin McDonald, Janaki Chopra and Andrew Chiang, and FBI agents in Honolulu “for their excellent work on this case.”