“The Attorney General’s Office is absolutely overreaching in an effort to try and show they are doing something about the opioid crisis,” said Cox, who has offices in Santa Rosa and San Francisco. “Keller has been a pillar in the Santa Rosa community for many years and grew up there, and he has always tried his best to treat patients properly. This case is an injustice to him.”

The state’s criminal charges come almost a year after Keller was indicted by a federal grand jury for alleged health care fraud and illegally distributing opioids for a period of more than a year.

State authorities began investigating Keller a little more than a year ago for alleged elder abuse. That investigation culminated this week when state officials worked with local law enforcement agencies to arrest the surgeon.

Keller earned his medical license in California in 1974, after graduating from the UC Davis School of Medicine. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army and Air Force as a neurosurgeon. In 2008, he opened a private practice in Santa Rosa where he treated patients for pain management and neurology disorders. As of Wednesday, the Medical Board of California still lists Keller on its website as having an active medical license.

Keller had his medical license temporarily suspended in 1990 for allegations of sexually abusing 10 female patients, according to a complaint filed that year by the Medical Board of California. His license was reinstated in 1994 and Keller completed a probation period in 1997, which included 42 psychotherapy sessions and supervised volunteer work within the medical community.

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