Francene Gayle, MD, was sentenced to 87 months in prison by Judge Liles Burke on four opioid prescribing charges, one count of healthcare fraud and one count of wire fraud. Mr. Burke sentenced her wife, Schara Davis, to 42 months in prison and one count of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. Dr. Gayle and Ms. Davis formerly owned a medical practice together.
The couple pleaded guilty in June in the $2.3 million fraud scheme. Dr. Gayle and Ms. Davis billed for millions of dollars in patient visits that Dr. Gayle was supposed to have conducted, but were conducted by other clinic staff. Those patients were also given opioid prescriptions presigned by Dr. Gayle.
Dr. Gayle practiced at three clinics in Huntsville, Athens and Killen, all in northernAlabama, which were shut down after her license was revoked in 2020. Ms. Davis owned the practice and operated as business manager.
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