Man Pleads Guilty in Pill Mill Ring That Took Down 11 Others
Tuesday, July 12, 2016 | 0
A man who leased a rigged MRI machine to a pill mill in exchange for a cut of the profits pleaded guilty last week to conspiring to launder money, the Department of Justice announced.
The machine that Ruben Hernandez, 39, lent to a sham medical clinic in Opelika, Alabama, generated fake images that seemed to support the conclusion that patients needed pain medicine.
In fact, many of the patients seen at EMED Medical Management Corp. had no legitimate need for the drugs, and some were later caught selling or abusing them, the DOJ said.
Eleven others have been indicted in connection with the scheme, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.
Erik R. Torres, 33, ran the clinic along with Marc O. Adam, 29, his office manager. Both pleaded guilty in March to federal conspiracy charges related to money laundering and drug distribution, and face up to 20 years in prison.
Francisco Huidor-Figueroa, a doctor who allegedly did not know the scheme was criminal, received five years of probation in April in exchange for his guilty plea last year.
EMED associate Jean H. Thelomat, who helped generate the fraudulent MRIs, received four years and nine months in prison. Laura A. Robinson would verify the MRIs, though she knew they were fake, and collect a per-patient fee. She was sentenced to one year and five months in prison.
Joseph M. McCann, who recruited patients for the pill mill, was sentenced to five years in prison.
Five "recruits" were sentenced for knowingly receiving drugs from the operation.
James R. Lawlor, Quinton M. Corbett and Zachary C. Lilley received one year of supervised release; Porcha D. Cawthorne received three years of probation; and Mauricia A. Corbett received one year in prison.
Hernandez's sentencing date has not been set. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transactions, whichever is greater, the DOJ said.
Adam faces the same fine in addition to his prison time, and Torres may end up paying $1 million in addition to his.
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