Thursday, July 22, 2021

Naples Pill Mill Doctor pleads guilty and agrees to forfeit 9 luxury vehicles and more than $ 400,000 | USAO-MDFL

Naples Pill Mill Doctor pleads guilty and agrees to forfeit 9 luxury vehicles and more than $ 400,000 | USAO-MDFL

Fort Myers, Fla. – Gerald Michael Abraham, 76, Naples, has pleaded guilty to three counts of dispensing controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose. In any case, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

According to court records, Abraham was a licensed physician practicing in Naples, Florida. In October 2019, the DEA opened an investigation after receiving a notice that Abraham was illegally prescribing strong opioids to patients who did not need the drug. Over the next year, the DEA made 18 covert patient visits to Abraham’s office, receiving prescriptions for oxycodone each time.

Abraham ignored signs of substance abuse pretended by the undercover patients and prescribed oxycodone without ever examining them. Furthermore, Abraham repeatedly increased the strength of the prescriptions just because the patient asked him for more. In one case, he prescribed oxycodone to an undercover patient after telling him that medical records “show you are perfectly normal”.

The research also found that Abraham frequently prescribed Adderall to patients for no legitimate reason. Adderall is the brand name of a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and contains amphetamine, a commonly abused controlled substance. On several occasions, law enforcement agencies observed Abraham simply prescribing Adderall at a patient’s request without asking questions or engaging in any investigation that justified the prescription.

Abraham’s clinic operated cash only, with patients paying $ 400 per visit. Investigators attributed the proceeds from Abraham’s criminal activities to several high-end vehicles he had purchased and hundreds of thousands of dollars, all of which were confiscated. In connection with his declaration of consent, Abraham has agreed to forfeit the following to the United States: a 2020 Acura NSX, a 2020 Porsche GT4, a 2021 Toyota Supra, a 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, a 2020 Aston Martin, a 2020 Nissan 370Z, a 2020 Chevrolet Camaro, two 2020 Ford Mustangs, $ 190,496.56 for a 2021 Aston Martin, and $ 249,598.52 in cash.

This case was investigated by the DEA Miami Tactical Diversion Squad and the United States Secret Service, with assistance from the Naples Police Department and the Charlotte County Sheriffs Office. US Assistant Attorney Michael V. Leeman is pursuing the criminal charges, and US Assistant Attorneys Anita Cream and James Muench are pursuing the recoveries.

See similar https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/naples-pill-mill-doctor-pleads-guilty-and-agrees-forfeit-9-luxury-vehicles-and-more

The post Naples Pill Mill Doctor pleads guilty and agrees to forfeit 9 luxury vehicles and more than $ 400,000 | USAO-MDFL first appeared on Daily Florida Press.



from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/naples-pill-mill-doctor-pleads-guilty-and-agrees-to-forfeit-9-luxury-vehicles-and-more-than-400000-usao-mdfl/

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