Michigan Doctor Gets 11-Plus Years In Opioid Scheme

DETROIT (AP) — A suburban Detroit doctor who admitted running an $18 million prescription drug scheme has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.

A federal judge in Detroit sentenced Dr. Zongli Chang to 135 months on Wednesday, and ordered him to pay a $1 million fine and forfeit $3 million. The Livonia man had pleaded guilty to orchestrating the opioid scheme between 2012 and 2017.

Chang said he was paid $150 to $400 for writing prescriptions for no medical purpose that were filled and then sold on the streets. Seven Detroit residents were also indicted, and six have pleaded guilty.

Chang's plea agreement says recruiters would take the fake patients to pharmacies to get the pills, including hydrocodone and oxycodone.

His medical license was suspended by Michigan regulators in 2017.

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