What Happened
Wendell Lewis Randall, 70, a North Carolina physician from Millers Creek, pleaded guilty in November 2023 in the Western District of Virginia to conspiring to use a DEA registration number issued to another person while dispensing and distributing controlled substances. Between 2017 and 2020 he was affiliated with L5 Medical Holdings, doing business as Pain Care Centers, which operated pain clinics in Virginia. Court documents state that he allowed other, unqualified providers at two clinics to use his DEA registration number to prescribe Suboxone in his name for patients he had not seen, and that L5 paid him for the arrangement.
“allowed other, unqualified medical providers to use his DEA registration number to prescribe Suboxone (buprenorphine) in his name”
Related Guidance
- 15 Red Flags of Drug Diversion — Behavioral and transactional indicators of diversion.
- Investigation Playbook — How to investigate suspected diversion inside an organization.