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

An Indian-origin physician, Sanjay Mehta, pleaded guilty to unlawfully prescribing opioids, including 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 obtaining a controlled substance by fraud after he admitted to unlawfully prescribing opioids while working at HOPE Clinic, a pain management clinic, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.Prosecutors said Mehta worked at multiple sites that the pain management clinic operated from November 2012 through May 2015 though 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 three different customers with no legitimate medical purpose, including prescriptions for oxycodone, methadone and Roxicodone. Prosecutors said two of the three patients died of opioid intoxication within days of receiving their prescriptions.Mehta is scheduled to be sentenced on October 31 and faces a maximum of four years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a maximum $750,000 fine.

He also agreed to surrender his Drug Enforcement Administration Certificate of Registration, not oppose the revocation of his registration to dispense controlled substances and not apply for re-registration.Mehta was initially indicted in 2018 along with others associated with HOPE Clinic and Patients, Physicians and Pharmacists Fighting Diversion, which managed HOPE Clinic’s daily operations. According to the indictment, from November 2010 to June 2015, Mehta and his associatesconspired to distribute oxycodone and other Schedule II controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice.Mehta and six other physicians pleaded guilty to separate charges 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,” said acting US attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “This commitment stems from the recognition that such actions harm patients and undermine efforts to combat the epidemic.

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