Friday, August 10, 2018

Feds bust Detroit doctors in $20m opioid conspiracy

The drugs had a street value of more than $20 million.Five people in Detroit, including Dr. Michelle Ritter, 60, and Dr. Charise Valentine, 62, were indicted and are accused of running a $20m drug conspiracy. The doctors accepted only cash and charged patients based on the quantity, type and dosage of prescription opioids. The doctors primarily prescribed oxycodone and oxymorphone. Oxycodone sells for $17-$22 per pill in Detroit. In Kentucky and Ohio the pills sell for $45. The doctors issued more than 674,500 doses of opioids. Medicare was billed nearly $2 million.
A West Bloomfield doctor and a patient recruiter have been sentenced to prison for running an opioid drug scheme throughout Metro Detroit for years. Dr. Mark Buzzard, 51, and Joseph James Roe, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone. Buzzard was sentenced to 72 months in prison and Roe was sentenced to 144 months in prison.