Indian American physician Sanjay Mehta has pleaded guilty to three counts of aiding and abetting obtaining a controlled substance by fraud after two of his customers died of opioid overdoses.
Mehta, 57, of Shady Spring admitted to unlawful prescription practices at HOPE (Hitech Opioid Pharmachovigilance Expertise) Clinic, a purported pain management clinic that operated in Beckley, Beaver and Charleston, West Virginia, and Wytheville, Virginia.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Mehta worked at the Beckley HOPE Clinic from November 2012 through July 2013 and the Beaver HOPE Clinic from August 2013 through May 2015.
Mehta had little to no experience in dealing with chronic pain patients and no training in prescribing Schedule II narcotics for the treatment of chronic pain when he was recruited to work at HOPE Clinic, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
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As part of his guilty pleas, Mehta admitted to writing prescriptions for three different HOPE Clinic customers with no legitimate medical purpose, including prescriptions for oxycodone, methadone, and Roxicodone, a brand name for oxycodone hydrochloride. Two of the three customers died of opioid intoxication within days of receiving their unlawful prescriptions
Mehta is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31 and faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $750,000 fine.
Mehta 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 (PPPFD), which managed HOPE Clinic’s daily operations.
The indictment alleges that from November 2010 to June 2015, the defendants conspired to distribute oxycodone and other Schedule II controlled substances, not for legitimate medical purposes and outside the usual course of professional practice. Mehta and six other physicians pleaded guilty to separate charges in lieu of the indictment.
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“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 U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “This commitment stems from the recognition that such actions harm patients and undermine efforts to combat the epidemic.”
The prosecution was part of an investigation by Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States, according to the release.