Doctor Charged with Distribution of Opioids, Medicare Fraud

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses.

A Kentucky doctor was charged by indictment with unlawful distribution of controlled substances and making false statements in connection with the delivery of health care services. These charges stem from allegedly issuing prescriptions for opioids outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose while the owner and operator of East KY Clinic, PLLC in Paintsville. According to the indictment, the doctor issued these unlawful prescriptions to have continued access to patients whose health care treatment was paid for by taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare and Medicaid and to bill these programs for medically unnecessary procedures for these patients. Sometimes patients waited for hours to see this doctor for their prescriptions but had interactions with him that lasted only a few minutes and sometimes only a few seconds; the doctor is alleged to have fraudulently billed these visits as if they were much lengthier and more complex.