OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man was among 16 suspects indicted last week by a federal grand jury for their roles in several prescription “pill mills” across the state disguised as pain management clinics.
A federal grand jury last week indicted 16 suspects on drug conspiracy and other charges including the two owners of multiple wellness centers and pain management clinics at different locations around the state, along with multiple distributors including Peter Snyder, 34, of Ocean City. Also indicted were several “runners” who were recruited by the distributors including Snyder to enter the pain management clinics with bogus injuries and ailments in order to obtain prescribed controlled dangerous substances (CDS).
Armed with phony MRI reports and other documentation, the runners would often be prescribed rather large doses of CDS, generally Oxycodone, which they would then turn over to the distributors, allegedly including Snyder. The runners would be compensated and the distributors would then sell the Oxycodone and other CDS for a substantial profit all over the state, which would be shared with the pain management clinic owners at the top of the conspiracy.
According to the indictment handed down last week, the conspiracy was allegedly in operation from August 2014 to May 2015. The indictments allege the owners of the pain management center and wellness clinics operated the facilities as pill mills, which routinely engaged in the practice of prescribing and dispensing CDS outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
According to the indictments, the runners entered the clinics, paid cash for the visits and were prescribed high volumes of CDS. The runners were allegedly armed with bogus paperwork including falsified MRI reports so as not to raise suspicion with the doctors in the clinic prescribing the medication. The indictment estimates in any given month during the scheme, the clinics would see at least 400 patients, each receiving as many as 100 CDS pills or a total of 40,000 pills that would find their way onto the street. The estimated street value of the pills in a single month was estimated at around $1.2 million.
Snyder was among the suspects indicted as distributors. Two of the suspects were indicted as owners and several others were indicted as distributors and runners. Each of the suspects face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years and fine of $1 million.
“Abuse of oxycodone is one of our most significant drug enforcement challenges and it is a direct cause of the epidemic of heroin overdose deaths,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod Rosenstein said. “Pharmaceutical pills can be just as harmful as illegal drugs when they are used without proper medical supervision and without valid medical need.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Karl Colder said the investigation and subsequent federal indictments put other similar operations on notice the agency and its state and local partners are serious about stemming the abuse of prescription narcotics.
“These indictments, search warrants and subsequent arrests show that the DEA is dedicated to dismantling ‘pill mill’ operations,” he said. “When prescriptions are obtained through rogue pain management clinics and then sold on the streets, it creates and feeds a new generation of users and addicts. These addicts will continue to abuse the illegal prescriptions, or switch to a cheaper and more potent drug such as heroin.”