Alfonso Luevano, MD, a primary care physician in Carrizo Springs, Texas, along with three members of his clinical staff and his office manager, were sentenced for unlawful distribution of controlled substances and Medicaid fraud, the Justice Department reported Dec. 21.
Dr. Luevano allegedly prescribed large amounts of controlled substances, primarily Schedule II opioids, regularly with little or no medical examination, according to court records. He allegedly directed practitioners to give patients prescriptions using pre-signed prescription pads.
Dr. Luevano and his practitioners allegedly issued at least 20,000 controlled substance prescriptions between March 2016 and March 2018, with hydrocodone making up at least 50 percent of the prescriptions, according to data from the Texas prescription management program.
Dr. Luevano was sentenced to 121 months in prison with a subsequent three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine. He agreed to give up his Texas medical license and sell his medical office building to pay the restitution and fine.