Federal panel denies Dr. Kraynak appeal to withdraw guilty plea

Jul. 20—WILLIAMSPORT — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Thursday denied the appeal of former Dr. Raymond Kraynak to withdraw his guilty plea.

In a two-page document, the panel of judges consisting of Judges Jordan Kent, Cheryl Ann Krause and D. Brooks Smith ordered that the judgment entered on Aug. 9 is affirmed. They upheld a decision from U.S. Judge Matthew Brann that denied Kraynak's original appeal to withdraw a guilty plea and sentenced the former Mount Carmel doctor to 15 years in federal prison.

In a separate two-page document, Clerk of Court Patricia S. Dodszuweit laid out the options to Kraynak and court-appointed attorney Stephanie L. Cesare, of Carlisle.

"If you wish to seek review of the court's decision, you may file a petition for rehearing," Dodszuweit wrote.

The defense had 14 days after the entry of judgment, Dodszuweit wrote.

Kraynak, 66, of Mount Carmel, unexpectedly pleaded guilty in September 2021 after 10 days of trial. The plea came the morning the defense was set to begin its case. As part of the plea deal, Kraynak was likely to face a maximum of 15 years in prison, a fine and probation to be determined, potential restitution to the victims and additional court fees and costs.

Kraynak attempted to withdraw a guilty plea to 12 felony counts of illegal distribution or dispensing of prescription drugs.

Federal agents arrested Kraynak on Dec. 21, 2017. The indictment stated Kraynak allegedly prescribed more than six million opioids, such as Oxycontin, Vicodin and fentanyl, between May 2012 and July 2017, and was responsible for the deaths of five patients.

After pleading guilty, the remainder of the charges — five felony counts of illegal distribution or dispensing resulting in death and two felony counts of maintaining drug-involved premises for his offices in Mount Carmel and Shamokin — were dropped.

Kraynak has been incarcerated as a federal prisoner since March 2022. Although Kraynak had been free on $500,000 bail since he was first indicted in December 2017 and appeared for all court dates, Brann said Kraynak posed a flight risk due to his filings of fighting the sentence.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Kraynak is currently incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institute-Danbury in Danbury, Conn. His earliest release date is listed as Dec. 12, 2034, meaning Kraynak will be 77 when released.