{"id":49123,"date":"2022-03-09T18:35:25","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T02:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=49123"},"modified":"2022-03-09T18:35:25","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T02:35:25","slug":"16-defendants-including-12-physicians-sentenced-for-distributing-6-6-million-opioid-pills-and-submitting-250-million-in-false-billings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=49123","title":{"rendered":"16 Defendants, Including 12 Physicians, Sentenced for Distributing 6.6 Million Opioid Pills and Submitting $250 Million in False Billings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON D.C.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Sixteen Michigan and Ohio-area defendants, including 12 physicians, have been sentenced to prison for a $250 million health care fraud scheme, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

This included<\/span> the exploitation of patients suffering from addiction and the illegal distribution of over 6.6 million doses of medically unnecessary opioids. <\/span><\/p>\n

Five physicians were convicted in two separate trials, while 18 other defendants pleaded guilty. Seven defendants await sentencing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cIt is unconscionable that doctors and health care professionals would violate their oath to do no harm and exploit vulnerable patients struggling with addiction,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Division. \u201cThese are not just crimes of greed, these are crimes that make this country\u2019s opioid crisis even worse \u2013 and that is why the department will continue to relentlessly pursue these cases.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPatients look to physicians and medical professionals for their expertise and knowledge, trusting that they will do what is best to take care of them,\u201d said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI\u2019s Criminal Investigative Division. \u201cIn this circumstance, these medical professionals provided prescription drugs to those with no medical need.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Adding, “it is unacceptable that in this nation\u2019s current opioid crisis, physicians and medical professionals are exploiting the well-being of their patients for profit.”<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the scheme involved doctors refusing to provide patients with opioids unless they agreed to unnecessary back injections. <\/span><\/p>\n

Perpetrated through a multi-state network of pain clinics from 2007 to 2018, the evidence established that the clinics were pill mills frequented by patients suffering from addiction, as well as drug dealers, who sought to obtain high-dosage prescription drugs like oxycodone. <\/span><\/p>\n

The doctors working at the clinics agreed to work only a few hours a week to \u201cstay under the radar\u201d of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), yet were among the highest prescribers of oxycodone in the State of Michigan, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

To obtain prescriptions, the evidence showed that the patients had to submit to expensive, unnecessary, and sometimes painful back injections, known as facet joint injections. <\/span><\/p>\n

The injections were selected because they were among the highest reimbursing procedures, rather than based on medical need. <\/span><\/p>\n

Trial testimony indicated that, in some instances, patients experienced more pain from the shots than from the pain they had purportedly come to have treated, and that some patients developed adverse conditions, including open holes in their backs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Patients largely acquiesced to these unnecessary procedures because of their addiction or desire to obtain pills to be resold on the street by drug dealers. <\/span><\/p>\n

The evidence further established that the defendant physicians repeatedly performed these unnecessary injections on patients over several years and were paid more for facet joint injections than any other medical clinic in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

The evidence further established that the proceeds of the fraud were used to fuel lavish lifestyles. <\/span><\/p>\n

Francisco Patino, a doctor and part-owner of the clinics, bought jewelry, cars and vacations, as well as paid Ultimate Fighting Championship and other mixed martial arts fighters to promote his specialized diet program. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mashiyat Rashid, Patino\u2019s business partner and part-owner of the clinics, purchased private jet flights, courtside tickets to the NBA Finals and expensive real estate. Other physicians involved in the scheme purchased luxury cars, gold bars, and indoor basketball courts and swimming pools. <\/span><\/p>\n

Over $16 million in fraud proceeds was forfeited by the United States from the defendants.<\/span><\/p>\n

The physicians sentenced by the court include:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n