Two Tennessee doctors and a nurse face opioid dealing charges in multi-state investigation
Federal authorities announced criminal indictments on Wednesday against two Tennessee doctors and one Tennessee nurse for allegedly distributing highly addictive opioids without legitimate medical reasons.
The charges were announced as part of a multi-state investigation of 14 people accused of distributing opioids. Twelve of those charged are medical professionals, investigators said.
“Today’s Opioid Enforcement Action highlights the Justice Department’s latest efforts in responding to the nation’s opioid epidemic, which last year alone caused the tragic loss of life for more than 75,000 people in the United States due to overdose,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a news release. “The Department of Justice will continue to work tirelessly with its partners to combat this epidemic, and to seek to prevent the next tragic loss of life.”
The doctors who were indicted
One indictment is against physician Yogeshwar Gill, 45, also known as Gary Gill, which specifically alleges he "routinely" worked with others to distribute hydrocodone, oxycodone and buprenorphine without medical cause between Sept. 4, 2019, and April 2022.
Gill operated a family practice clinic in Manchester, a town roughly 65 miles southeast of Nashville. Gill could not be immediately reached for comment. Court documents don't list an attorney for him and his clinic's phone has been disconnected.
Another doctor, Hau T. La, 54, of Brentwood, Tennessee, is charged with 16 counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. Investigators say La improperly dispensed drugs including morphine sulfate, oxycodone and oxymorphone multiple times between August 2018 and February 2021.
Bryna Grant, one of La's attorneys, declined to comment at length.
“We are relatively new on this case and we are conducting our own investigation into the criminal allegations," Grant said. "Until we have more information it would be presumptive to respond.”
Former nurse Contessa Holley, 45, of Pulaski, Tennessee, is accused of fraudulently submitting prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone by using the names of hospice patients, as well as names, federal drug ID numbers and signatures of physicians.
Holley allegedly filled "thousands" of such prescriptions at two hospice facilities between May 2017 and June 2019. According to the indictment, Holley used patients’ hospice benefits to cover the costs of the drugs but kept them for her own use and further distribution.
She is facing charges that include wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and drug possession with the intent to distribute.
Holley's attorney also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Case involving Kentucky dentist
Another case announced Wednesday involved a Kentucky dentist who is accused of unlawfully prescribing morphine, another highly addictive opioid.
Investigators say the dentist issued three opioid prescriptions to a 24-year-old patient in a five-day period, who later died of an overdose from one of those prescriptions.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the Medicare and Medicaid system, has taken six administrative actions against providers for their alleged involvement in these offenses, federal authorities said.
The investigations are all part of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, a unit that has charged 111 people with alleged crimes related to the distribution of prescription opioids. The group partners with federal investigators in Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Frank Gluck is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at fgluck@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @FrankGluck.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Three Tennessee medical providers charged in multistate opioid drug bust
