Indian-origin physician Sanjay Mehta pleads guilty to illegally prescribing opioids that killed two in US; had little to no experience

Indian-origin physician pleads guilty to federal drug crime. (Representative picture)

An Indian-origin physician, Sanjay Mehta, pleaded guilty to unlawfully prescribing opioids, together with to two poeple who fatally overdosed. He admitted that he procured the opioids by fraud. The 57-year-old man from West Virginia’s Shady Spring pleaded guilty to three counts of acquiring a managed substance by fraud after he admitted to unlawfully prescribing opioids whereas working at HOPE Clinic, a ache administration clinic, in accordance to a information launch from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.Prosecutors mentioned Mehta labored at a number of websites that the ache administration clinic operated from November 2012 by way of May 2015 although he had “little to no experience in dealing with chronic pain patients and no training in prescribing Schedule II narcotics.”Mehta admitted to writing prescriptions for 3 totally different prospects with no respectable medical function, together with prescriptions for oxycodone, methadone and Roxicodone. Prosecutors mentioned two of the three sufferers died of opioid intoxication inside days of receiving their prescriptions.Mehta is scheduled to be sentenced on October 31 and faces a most of 4 years in jail, up to three years of supervised launch and a most $750,000 positive.He additionally agreed to give up his Drug Enforcement Administration Certificate of Registration, not oppose the revocation of his registration to dispense managed substances and never apply for re-registration.Mehta was initially indicted in 2018 together with others related to HOPE Clinic and Patients, Physicians and Pharmacists Fighting Diversion, which managed HOPE Clinic’s each day operations. According to the indictment, from November 2010 to June 2015, Mehta and his associatesconspired to distribute oxycodone and different Schedule II managed substances exterior the same old course {of professional} apply.Mehta and 6 different physicians pleaded guilty to separate costs in lieu of the indictment. PPPFD owner-operator Mark T. Radcliffe, 68, of Shady Spring and co-defendant Michael T. Moran, 60, of Covington, Virginia, are scheduled for trial on Oct. 6, 2025.HOPE Clinic operated in Beckley, Beaver and Charleston, West Virginia, and Wytheville, Virginia.“It is readily evident that the Southern District of West Virginia has been severely impacted by the opioid crisis. The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to bringing to justice those whose criminal conduct contributes to this crisis and worsens its most tragic consequences,” mentioned performing US legal professional Lisa G. Johnston. “This commitment stems from the recognition that such actions harm patients and undermine efforts to combat the epidemic.”