Defendants in California Pill Mill Distribution Scheme Indicted and Ordered to Face Trial

October 24, 2012 3:13 pm Topics: Diversion and Prescription drug abuse

Sixteen defendants in California face charges related to illegally obtaining and distributing more than 900,000 OxyContin® pills. The defendants are charged with being part of a drug trafficking organization that distributed the pills, which were obtained in part through fraud against public insurance programs such as Medicare. Of the 16 defendants, 15 have been arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and were ordered to stand trial in November 2012. One of the defendants became a fugitive as of October 16, 2012. A superseding indictment from a federal grand jury replaces charges filed a year ago and alleges a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, a conspiracy to commit health care fraud, structuring financial transactions, and money laundering. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of proceeds related to the criminal offenses.

The indictment includes details about the alleged drug trafficking scheme in which doctors at a medical clinic in Los Angeles wrote OxyContin prescriptions for Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries, as well as other patients, who did not need the drug. These “patients” were recruited, seen by the doctor, and then taken to pharmacies where the prescriptions were filled. The drugs were then delivered to one of the defendants who allegedly resold the pills on the street for millions of dollars in profits. A Federal Bureau of Investigation news release provides more details about the alleged scheme.