The San Francisco Chronicle
EAST BAY
Psychiatrist Sentenced In Sex Case
FEBRUARY 3, 1993

Oakland — A psychiatrist who was found guilty of prescribing medication in exchange for sex was sentenced yesterday to one year in Alameda County Jail and fined $ 15,000.

Paul Lowinger, 69, who had offices in Oakland and San Francisco, was arrested after a seven- month investigation by the state attorney general revealed that he had billed Medi-Cal for psychotherapy sessions during which he had sex with at least five patients.

Lowinger pleaded no contest in November to felony grand theft, filing false Medi-Cal claims, issuing a controlled substance without a medical purpose and a misdemeanor charge of having sex with patients.

The psychiatrist had no previous criminal record, and several colleagues and former students wrote Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman asking for leniency. Goodman said he will allow Lowinger to apply to serve his sentence in the county’s work-furlough facility for minimum-security prisoners.