Charged with unlawfully dispensing controlled substances, healthcare fraud.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian American neurologist Pawan Kumar Jain has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 111 criminal counts, under allegations that his mid-prescribing of certain medications may have led to two deaths.
The indictment came last week, on April 17, and Jain (61) made his first appearance in federal court the following day in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Jain’s indictment includes 61 counts of “unlawfully dispensing controlled substances,” and 50 counts of healthcare fraud.
The indictment comes just over a year after the New Mexico Medical Board revoked Jain’s medical license, after concerns arose that his prescriptions may have led to a separate 17 deaths. Prior to that, his license had been suspended in June of 2012, pending a further investigation, before being completely revoked.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, between April 2009 and June 2010, Jain distributed painkillers such as oxycodone and methadone, to people who were not patients of his medical clinic. Because they are controlled substances, they cannot be given to anyone who does not have a legitimate medical need for them, thus making the action illegal. For each of the 61 counts of dispensing these drugs, Jain faces 20 years behind bars and a $1 million fine.
Additionally, Jain would bill federal healthcare programs Medicare and Medicaid for reimbursement, saying that he was giving the aforementioned drugs to patients, when he was actually giving them to people who had no association with his clinic. While the Justice Department has not said how much money Jain received in illicit reimbursements, each of his 50 counts for healthcare fraud carry with them four years in jail, and $250,000 in fines.
However, four of the counts in the 111-count indictment say that Jain’s distribution of controlled substances led to the deaths of two people, identified only as M.E.B. and N.D., their initials. The first two of the four counts say that Jain gave M.E.B. 540 40 mg oxycodone tablets, and 405 10 mg methadone tablets in 2009, which ultimately killed them. The specifics of N.D.’s drugs were not disclosed, but Jain is being held accountable.
“Health care fraud and unlawfully dispensing prescription drugs cost consumers, taxpayers, and insurance companies billions of dollars,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee. “Sometimes, as this case alleges, these crimes can even kill. The FBI is proud to work alongside the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to make sure physicians who attempt to defraud the government, sometimes with fatal results, are held accountable.”
Kumar was nabbed through a combined effort by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the New Mexico Medical Board, and the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy. His next court date has not yet been announced.