KENTUCKY
A Kentucky doctor and his former office assistant pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 for their roles in unlawfully distributing opioids and other controlled substances during a time when the defendants did not have a legitimate medical practice.
Scotty Akers, M.D., 48, a licensed physician, and Serissa Akers, 33, his wife and former office assistant, both of Pikeville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to unlawfully distributing controlled substances.
As part of the plea, Dr. Akers also agreed to a money judgment of $12,275.
Sentencing for both defendants has been scheduled for Nov. 20.
As part of their guilty pleas, the defendants admitted to using Facebook messenger to sell unnecessary prescriptions for opioids.
According to their plea agreement, Serissa Akers exchanged prescriptions written by Dr. Akers for cash in parking lots around Pikeville.
The defendants also admitted that Dr. Akers performed no physicial examinations that would justify these parking-lot prescriptions, and failed to engage in other measures that prevent the abuse and diversion of opioids, court records indicate.
The defendants continued operating their opioid-delivery scheme even after they came under investigation and up until the moment when Dr. Akers’s medical license was suspended.
DOJ NOTED:
The Fraud Section leads the ARPO Strike Force. Since its inception in October 2018, the ARPO Strike Force, which operates in ten districts, has charged more than 70 defendants who are collectively responsible for distributing approximately 50 million pills.
Thus far there have been 30 guilty pleas as a result of ARPO Strike Force’s efforts. The ARPO Strike Force is part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force Program, led by the Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $19 billion.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.