A federal grand jury indicted California physician Timothy Mulligan, MD, for allegedly committing healthcare fraud and prescribing more than 700,000 opioid doses to patients outside the scope of professional standards, The Mercury News reports.
The oncology and internal medicine specialist faces three drug distribution charges and two counts of healthcare fraud, according to court documents filed Feb. 27. He could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for just the drug distribution charges if he's convicted.
Dr. Mulligan allegedly wrote about 9,000 prescriptions for fentanyl, oxycodone and hydrocodone to more than 250 patients between 2014 and 2018.
At some points, as many as 90 percent of Dr. Mulligan's patients received at least one opioid prescription, according to prosecutors. Some paid for appointments or drugs with cash, while others were covered by Medi-Cal or Cigna.
Because of a specific instance of alleged negligence, Dr. Mulligan was required to surrender his Drug Enforcement Administration permit and had his medical license placed on three-year probation Feb. 21.