BECKLEY, W.Va. — A seventh former doctor at the Raleigh County-based HOPE Clinic has pleaded guilty to providing painkilling drugs to pain clinic customers when he had no expertise to do so.
Dr. Sanjay Mehta, 56, of Shady Spring, admitted Thursday to three counts of aiding and abetting obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.
The plea is part of ongoing case with those connected to the HOPE (Hitech Opioid Pharmachovigilance Expertise) Clinic operations.
Mehta worked at locations in Beckley and Beaver from November 2012 to May 2015.
Federal prosecutors said Mehta had little or no experience in dealing with chronic pain patients and no training on what drugs to prescribe.
According to a U.S. Attorney news release, “Mehta admitted to writing prescriptions for three different HOPE Clinic customers with no legitimate medical purpose, including prescriptions for oxycodone, methadone, and Roxicodone, a brand name for oxycodone hydrochloride. Two of the three customers died of opioid intoxication within days of receiving their unlawful prescriptions.”
“It is readily evident that the Southern District of West Virginia has been severely impacted by the opioid crisis. The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to bringing to justice those whose criminal conduct contributes to this crisis and worsens its most tragic consequences,” Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Johnston said. “This commitment stems from the recognition that such actions harm patients and undermine efforts to combat the epidemic.”
Mehta is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31. He faces up to four years in federal prison.
The owner-operator of the company that managed the pain clinic, Mark Radcliffe, 68, of Shady Spring, and co-defendant Dr. Michael Moran, 60, of Covington, Virginia, are scheduled to go on trial beginning Oct. 6.