CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A half-dozen medical professionals have now pleaded guilty to charges in connection with illegal prescriptions prescribed from the Charleston-based HOPE Clinic following a Monday guilty plea.
Dr. William Earley, 63, of South Carolina, pleaded guilty to distributing oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose at the now closed pain clinic.
“Earley is the latest drug dealer in a lab coat to plead guilty to charges brought by my office,” U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said in a Monday evening news release. “In fact, six medical providers have pled guilty to date as a result of the investigation into HOPE Clinic’s prescribing practices.”
Earley admitted to prescribing 20 Percocet 10mg/325mg pills and 60 Oxycodone 10 mg pills to a patient on April 24, 2014, to a patient who had failed four drug tests and who had reported his medication stolen. Stuart said Earley did not talk with the patient about drug addiction and didn’t give him a physical exam.
Earley is scheduled to be sentenced May 11. He’ll face up to 10 years in prison.