Jain was already charged with 111-count indictment last year.
AB Wire
NEW YORK: Indian American physician Dr. Pawan Kumar Jain, 62, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been arraigned in Las Cruces federal court on a 114-count superseding indictment which alleges that, among other crimes, he over-prescribed opioid pain medication resulted in the deaths of four patients.
Jain entered a not guilty plea to the superseding indictment. He remains in custody pending trial.
Jain initially was charged in a 111-count indictment filed on April 16, 2014. The indictment charged Jain with 61 counts of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and 50 counts of healthcare fraud, according to the Justice Department.
The superseding indictment, which was filed on May 20, 2015, adds two new counts of the unlawful dispensing of controlled substances resulting in death and a new count of healthcare fraud resulting in death, for a total of 63 dispensing charges and 51 healthcare fraud charges.
According to the superseding indictment, Jain allegedly committed the offenses charged between April 2009 and June 2010, in Doña Ana County, N.M. During that period, Jain was a licensed physician with a neurology subspecialty who operated a pain management medical practice in Las Cruces. Jain’s medical license was suspended in June 2012 and subsequently revoked in Dec. 2012 by the New Mexico Medical Board.
Each of the 63 dispensing charges in the superseding indictment alleges that Jain unlawfully dispensed prescription painkillers, primarily Oxycodone and methadone, to patients outside the usual course of medical practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on each of the 63 dispensing charges is 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000.00 fine.
The 51 healthcare fraud charges allege that Jain engaged in a scheme to defraud two health care benefit programs, Medicare and Medicaid, by causing claims to be submitted for payment for prescription medications he dispensed to patients outside the usual course of medical practice and without legitimate medical purpose. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on each of the health care fraud charges is ten years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.
Seven counts in the superseding indictment, Counts 1 through 7, expose Jain to enhanced sentencing because the criminal conduct charged allegedly resulted in the deaths of four patients. Those Counts contain the following allegations:
- Counts 1 and 2—that Jain’s unlawful dispensing of prescription painkillers, 270 tablets of methadone (10 mg), and fraudulent conduct in late November 2009, resulted in the death of a patient identified by the initials “M.E.B†on December 25, 2009.
- Counts 3 and 4—that Jain’s unlawful dispensing of prescription painkillers, 120 tablets of oxycodone (30 mg), and fraudulent conduct on July 27, 2010, resulted in the death of a patient identified by the initials “N.D.†on July 29, 2010.
- Count 5—that Jain’s unlawful dispensing of prescription painkillers, 90 tablets of morphine sulfate (60 mg), in June 2010, resulted in the death of a patient identified by the initials “R.B.†on August 14, 2010.
- Counts 6 and 7—that Jain’s unlawful dispensing of prescription painkillers, 180 tablets of oxycodone (30 mg), and fraudulent conduct on June 14, 2010, resulted in the death of a patient identified by the initials “T.B.†on June 18, 2010.
The enhanced penalty for a conviction on each of Counts 1, 3, 5 and 6, which allege the unlawful dispensing of a controlled substance resulting in death, is a statutory mandatory minimum 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. The enhanced statutory maximum penalty for a conviction on each of Counts 2, 4 and 7, which allege healthcare fraud resulting in death, is life imprisonment.