What Happened
Verna Mae Lewis, 70, a Roanoke, Virginia doctor, was sentenced in November 2021 to 36 months in prison, a $10,000 fine and a $500,000 forfeiture money judgment for distributing Schedule II controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice. The drugs charged included morphine, oxycodone and hydromorphone. Evidence showed she profited more than $523,000 and prescribed the same opioid regimen month after month, sometimes escalating doses, after little or no examination. Under her guilty plea she agreed to surrender her medical licenses and registrations and never practice medicine again.
“was sentenced to 36 months in prison, a fine of $10,000, and a forfeiture money judgment of $500,000”
Related Guidance
- 15 Red Flags of Drug Diversion — Behavioral and transactional indicators of diversion.
- Investigation Playbook — How to investigate suspected diversion inside an organization.