Augusta Doctor Sentenced to 71 Months for Conspiring to Sell Prescription Drugs

COVINGTON, KY—A doctor from Augusta, Ky. was sentenced today to almost six years in prison by United States District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves for selling prescription drugs in return for thousands of dollars and sexual favors.

Judge Reeves described the sentencing of 66-year-old Milton Brindley, a source of thousands of illegally obtained prescription pills, as cutting off the head of a snake. He also mentioned his hope that the sentencing would deter other doctors from committing similar crimes.

From 2003 until 2007, Brindley, who practiced medicine for more than 30 years, wrote prescriptions for controlled substances for non medical purposes. Specifically, he illegally distributed pills containing oxycodone as well as more than 80,000 pills for other controlled substances including hydrocodone, benzphetamine, codeine, phentermine, clonazepam, diazepam, carisoprodol, and lorazepam.

Those prescriptions were often given to individuals identified as transporters, who brought patients to Brindley’s office, arranged the payments for the illegal prescriptions, and collected the prescriptions for Brindley’s patients. On numerous occasions, Brindley gave the prescription to the transporter even when the patient was not at the office. The transporters were then involved in illegally selling the controlled substances.

In return for the prescriptions, the transporters provided Brindley with cash, additional patients, jewelry, pornographic material, and sexual favors (whether it was the transporter having sex with Brindley, or providing people to have sex with Brindley). In total, Brindley received $591,575.00 in gross proceeds for the prescriptions.

In July of 2009, Brindley pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to illegally distributing prescription drugs.

Under federal law, Brindley must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence, and, upon release, will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for three years.

James A. Zerhusen, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Robert L. Corso, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Timothy D. Cox, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly made the announcement today after the sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Kentucky State Police. The United States was represented in the case by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Bracke and Alamdar Hamdani.