A Sugar Land doctor who ran a Houston medspa lost his medical license this month after admitting he invented fake patient profiles to get his own opioid prescriptions filled, according to Texas Medical Board records. Dr. Pranav B. Shukla, 47, faces a second-degree felony charge tied to a Norco prescription that investigators say was written under a fabricated patient name.
The Texas Medical Board issued an emergency, no-notice suspension of Shukla's license on August 19, determining that his continued practice posed a continuing threat to public welfare, according to the Texas Medical Board. The criminal case against him, filed in Fort Bend County, charges him under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 481.129(c)(1) for fraud in delivering a prescription or prescription form — a second-degree felony under state law.
Court records reviewed by the Houston Chronicle show Fort Bend County task force agents stopped Shukla on April 22, 2025, as he picked up a Norco prescription at a Sugar Land pharmacy. That prescription, per medical board records, contained a fraudulent name for a nonexistent patient. Norco is a hydrocodone-and-acetaminophen combination drug, and its Schedule II classification under state and federal law reflects its high potential for abuse and dependence.
Doctor Admitted Creating Fake Patient Files
Shukla told investigators he created different patient profiles to prescribe and pick up medication for personal use, according to medical board records cited by the Chronicle's report. Medical board records also showed he issued multiple prescriptions between April 2025 and April 2026 to patients who shared his own phone number or address — a detail that helped investigators tie the prescriptions back to him. He was arrested on July 15 and released after posting a $20,000 bond, and he appeared in court on July 16.
Investigators built their case in part using records from a Texas database that monitors controlled-substance prescriptions, the newspaper reported. Since March 2020, Texas law has required licensed prescribers to check that Prescription Monitoring Program database before writing any outpatient prescription for Schedule II drugs like opioids, specifically to catch diversion or doctor-shopping, according to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. Pharmacies, for their part, must electronically report every dispensed Schedule II through V prescription to that same database no later than the next business day, creating the kind of auditable trail that let investigators cross-reference prescribers against patient profiles.
A Career Built in Medicine and Medspa Treatments
Shukla obtained his Texas medical license in 2011 and specializes in family medicine and cosmetic surgery. He completed his family medicine residency at Stony Brook University Hospital, where he served as chief resident, and later accumulated more than a decade of emergency medicine experience, according to background information published by ShineMD Medspa & Liposuction Center. Shukla founded that Houston aesthetic and body-contouring practice in October 2018 and serves as its owner and medical director, per the Better Business Bureau.
Medical board records show no prior discipline against Shukla before this case. Under Texas Medical Board procedure, a no-notice temporary suspension like his must be followed by a suspension hearing with at least 10 days' notice as soon as practicable, unless the doctor waives it, and the suspension stays in effect until the board reaches a final decision. It remains unclear whether Shukla will contest that hearing before his October 5 court date, or how the suspension will affect operations at ShineMD Medspa.
Part of a Broader Regulatory Pattern
The Texas Medical Board has repeatedly used its emergency suspension powers to pull physician licenses immediately when serious felony charges or patient-safety risks surface, including several other Houston-area suspensions in 2025 and 2026. A conviction on the second-degree felony prescription fraud charge Shukla faces could carry a sentence of 2 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to legal guidance published by FindLaw. While board records document his admission to creating fake patient profiles for personal opioid acquisition, the criminal charge against him remains an allegation until it is resolved in court.
