Justice brings 123 charges against man who allegedly posed as a doctor and falsified prescriptions in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico.- The Department of Justice, through its Economic Crimes Division, filed 123 charges today against Andy William Ruiz Torres, 49 years old, for crimes related to fraud, illegal appropriation of identity and forgery of documents, including the preparation and use of fake prescriptions for controlled substances. The charges were filed before Judge Rafael I. Lugo Morales, of the Court of First Instance of Arecibo, who found cause in all the complaints and imposed a global bail of $2.4 million. According to the Pre-Trial Services Program (PSAJ), Ruiz Torres was released under supervision while the judicial process unfolds. According to the investigation, the events occurred between August 2, 2024 and August 5, 2025 in several pharmacies in Arecibo, Hatillo, and Adjuntas, as well as in medical offices in Ponce and Lares. Ruiz Torres worked as an assistant physician illegally in the offices of Dr. Alberto Pablo Córica Guinle and Dr. Carlos Francisco Planell Dosal, despite not having accreditation or authorization to practice.

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The defendant allegedly appropriated medical prescription pads and created multiple false prescriptions for Tramadol, a controlled substance, which he attempted to dispense at various pharmacies. The investigation revealed that, through this scheme, Ruiz Torres had illegally obtained 873 tablets of Tramadol of 50 milligrams. The fraud was discovered after a pharmacist from Arecibo contacted one of the affected doctors to confirm the authenticity of a prescription, which led to the complaint and subsequent investigation by inspector Francisco Javier Soto Alicea, assigned to the Controlled Substances Division of the Department of Health. The preview was scheduled for December 15, 2025.