Michigan doctor sentenced to 6 years in prison for illegally prescribing 200,000 opioid pills
A Southfield, Michigan, doctor convicted of illegally prescribing more than 200,000 prescription opioid pills has been sentenced to federal prison.
Dr. Charise Valentine, 69, was sentenced Wednesday to six years in a federal prison. Valentine was found guilty in April by a jury of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute prescription opioids, including oxycodone and oxymorphone, and 10 counts of illegal distribution of oxycodone and oxymorphone, according to U.S. attorneys.
From November 2016 to July 2018, Valentine is accused of issuing more than 3,000 prescriptions for more than 200,000 pills to individuals "who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs."
According to federal prosecutors, a majority of these individuals were taken to the Orthopedic Medical Building, which authorities called a "sham clinic."
The clinic, which operated out of a warehouse in Oak Park, accepted only cash and charged patients $200 to $500 per prescription, should they receive the medication, prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors say Valentine was paid more than $500,000 in cash over the 19 months but was only paid if she wrote the opioid prescription to a patient and not based on "medical care." Investigators say Valentine received an envelope with thousands in cash each day she worked.
"Doctors take an oath to heal, not poison. As a doctor, this defendant knew better than anyone the devastating harm that opioid addiction causes to people. There is no place in our community for corrupt doctors," said United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.
Other defendants in the case included a fellow doctor, a recruiter and a clinic operator. Federal prosecutors say all three previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison.
The FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.