The DOJ announced that Adnan S. Khan, M.D., a New England doctor, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to illegally distribute controlled substances. Khan now faces up to 10 years in prison after admitting to illegal distributing controlled substances through his business, New England Medicine and Counseling Associates (NEMCA).
According to court documents, NEMCA operated clinics throughout New England that provided services to patients struggling with substance abuse, including opioid addictions. Khan and his co-conspirators used the clinics to illegally distribute controlled substances to patients they knew were diverting the prescriptions. Court documents show that Khan and his co-conspirators were concerned about losing their “dishonest” patients after pharmacies stopped filling prescriptions from NEMCA clinics. In turn, Khan and his co-conspirators discussed ways to retain diverters by offering “scholarships” to patients with outstanding balances. Khan also admitted to falsifying medical records to illegally prescribe control substances and requiring patients to pay in cash. Khan deposited over $10,000 in cash into his bank.
When the DOJ issued a press release regarding the creation of the New England Strike Force, Khan alerted his co-conspirator via email and warned his staff that “[i]t is not a matter of if someone from such a task force will visit NEMCA but rather a matter of time.” Khan is now the first doctor to be prosecuted by the Justice Department’s New England Strike Force and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont. Upon announcing Khan’s plea, Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli of the FBI Albany Field Office commented “[t]oday’s plea proves [Khan] is no better than a street level drug dealer motivated by pure greed as opposed to the oath he took to ‘first, do no harm’ to his patients.
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