An Atlanta-area gynecologist and two pharmacists were indicted after they were found to be operating “pill mills” and illegally distributing prescriptions, officials said Friday.
Though Anthony Mills, 55, was a licensed physician with a specialty in gynecology, he did not maintain a gynecology practice listed with the Medical Board or Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said in a news release. Instead, he allegedly operated a pill mill out of his Atlanta home and “sold prescriptions to addicts and drug-dealing sponsors in exchange for cash payments,” the office said.
“When medical professionals allegedly abuse their credentials to divert dangerous prescriptions pills to the streets for personal profit, the toll on our communities is devastating,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “The opioid crisis is far from over, and we continue our work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to pursue those who traffic in these dangerous drugs.”
Many of the prescriptions were provided to sponsors whom Mills never evaluated and never even met, according to the release. Some of the prescriptions issued were for individuals whose identities had been stolen, were incarcerated or were dead, authorities said. Mills also allowed a Douglasville man and Stone Mountain woman, who were not medical professionals, to sell prescriptions they wrote using Mills’ name and Drug Enforcement Administration registration number, the office said.
The indictment also states that Raphael Ogunsusi, 69, of Conyers, operated Evansmill Pharmacy and Retox Pharmacy for the purpose of illegally dispensing and distributing substances, officials said. Most of the prescriptions dispensed at the two pharmacies were written by Mills, including prescriptions filled by sponsors in the names of individuals who were not present, and in many cases, whose identities had been stolen, the attorney’s office said.
Pharmacist Moses Kirigwi, 29, of Brookhaven, who dispensed a large number of prescriptions issued by Mills and others that were presented by sponsors, was also charged, according to the release.
Ogunsusi and Kirigwi dispensed prescriptions that were above the appropriate dosages and combinations, prescriptions which were then abused and sold, officials said.
Ogunsusi often charged well above the medication’s market value; in order to disguise the significantly inflated prices, he falsified information on his pharmacy computers, according to the press release. Both Ogunsusi and Kirigwi also required sponsors to purchase additional non-controlled substances to maximize profits, authorities said.
“While in the midst of this country’s prescription opioid epidemic, removing and ultimately eliminating physicians who recklessly overprescribe pharmaceutical pills (particularly prescribed opioids) for non-medical reasons, is an important part of DEA’s mission,” said Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “This pill peddling gynecologist allegedly distributed large quantities of opiate-based pills to scores of drug-seeking patients. He, and his accomplices, will no longer be able to commit such unlawful acts thanks to spirited law enforcement cooperation.”
Mills, Ogunsusi, Kirigwi and 11 others have all been indicted on federal drug charges for their roles in operating “pill mills,” the attorney’s office said. Ogunsusi was also indicted individually on money laundering charges.
The case continues to be investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
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