First Doctor Caught in Opioid Dragnet Faces Mountain of New Charges

Friday, August 3, 2018 | 0

A Pittsburgh grand jury has re-indicted a holistic pain-management physician on charges of fraudulently prescribing opioid drugs and submitting false claims to workers' compensation carriers.

Andrzej Kazimierz Zielke, 63, was charged with 121 counts of health care fraud and money-laundering charges. Zielke was the first doctor to be charged in the Department of Justice's crackdown on opioid abuse, launched in 2017.

Now, the charges against him have been greatly expanded, the U.S. Attorney's office for Western Pennsylvania said in a bulletin this week.

"Western Pennsylvania is experiencing some of the highest opioid overdose death rates in the nation, rates driven not only by drug traffickers who distribute on our streets but also by those who peddle drugs out their medical offices," U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said.

Zielke faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 on each count.