An Elizabethtown doctor was among 60 people charged and indicted in a far-reaching regional sweep by federal investigators for illegally prescribing and distributing opioids, and health care fraud.
Dr. Ijaz Mahmood operates a practice on Woodland Drive in Elizabethtown, but resides in Louisville. He was among 31 doctors across 11 federal districts to be indicted.
Mahmood operated Mahmood MD, and from January 1, 2015, through February 28, 2019, he executed “a scheme and artifice to defraud a healthcare benefit program affecting commerce,” according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. He is also accused of allowing unlicensed staff to “provide prescriptions for controlled substances to patients” while he was away from his practice by using “pre-signed blank prescription forms.”
He is charged with directing medical staff at his office “not licensed to practice medicine, to perform medical services on patients, including infusions.” He is also accused of submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid as well as private insurers.
Mahmood faces a 34 years in prison if convicted.
In addition to the 31 physicians indicted, seven pharmacists, eight nurse practitioners, and seven other licensed medical professionals were indicted for their alleged participation in the illegal prescribing and distributing of opioids and other dangerous narcotics, and for health care fraud schemes.
“The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history, and Appalachia has suffered the consequences more than perhaps any other region,” Attorney General William P. Barr said. “But the Department of Justice is doing its part to help end this crisis. One of the Department’s most promising new initiatives is the Criminal Division’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, which began its work in December. Just four months later, this team of federal agents and 14 prosecutors has charged 60 defendants for alleged crimes related to millions of prescription opioids.”
“Reducing the illicit supply of opioids is a crucial element of President Trump’s plan to end this public health crisis,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. “It is also vital that Americans struggling with addiction have access to treatment and that patients who need pain treatment do not see their care disrupted, which is why federal and local public health authorities have coordinated to ensure these needs are met in the wake of this enforcement operation. The Trump Administration’s law enforcement and public health leaders will continue to work hand in hand to end this crisis that has hit Appalachia hard and steals far too many lives across America every day.”
The federal illegal drug distribution/healthcare fraud investigation took place in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Alabama.
(Photo courtesy of Radaris.com)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
