Celebrities
Lawyer Convicted of Prescription Fraud in Anna Nicole Smith Drug Case
Anna Nicole Smith’s boyfriend, lawyer Howard K. Stern, was convicted Thursday of giving false names and acting by fraud to obtain prescriptions for the former Playboy model and reality TV star.
Stern was acquitted of seven other charges in a jury trial in Los Angeles, the Associated Press and Reuters report. Smith died of an accidental overdose in 2007 at the age of 39.
As he left the courthouse, Stern said the acquittals were on charges related to the appropriateness of the medication. The conviction, he said, was related to his efforts to protect Smith’s privacy.
The doctor who prescribed the drugs, Sandeep Kapoor, was acquitted of all charges. His win was viewed as a victory for physicians who treat chronic pain, Reuters says.
