Maryland physician found guilty of running ‘pill mill’

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A physician who practiced in Washington, D.C., was found guilty of illegally distributing prescriptions for narcotics in exchange for cash. 

Ndubuisi Okafor, MD, of Upper Marlboro, Md., ran a medical clinic in Washington, D.C., between May 2021 and April 2023, where he would prescribe opioids to individuals with minimal examination, according to a March 21 news release from the Justice Department. 

According to the department, Dr. Okafor would prescribe opioids to numerous people using false identities. Dr. Okafor’s conduct spanned at least 45 states and led to hundreds of thousands of units of oxycodone and promethazine with codeine liquid prescriptions, according to the news release. 

Dr. Okafor’s DEA registration number was suspended in September 2023 as he was deemed to be a threat to public health and safety.

A jury found Dr. Okafor guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (outside the practice of medicine), maintaining a drug-involved premise and 22 counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 20, 2025.

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