Physician Sentenced to 84 Months for Illegal Prescription Drug Distribution

DAYTON, OH—Dr. Richard Sievers, 53, of Oakwood, was sentenced in United States District Court here today to 84 months' imprisonment for his participation in a scheme that resulted in the illegal distribution of more than 700,000 dosage units of controlled substances from a storefront medical clinic in Dayton between January and November 2007.

William E. Hunt, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Todd Spradling, Resident Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Dayton Field Office, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Commander John Burke of the Warren County Drug Task Force announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

Sievers operated Walnut Hills Family Care, located at 1900 Wayne Avenue in Dayton. Sievers conspired with others to distribute prescription drugs including Amphetamine, OxyContin (oxycodone), Vicodin ES (hydrocodone), Xanax (alprazolam), and Methadone (methadose).

Sievers wrote or approved prescriptions that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose and were not in the usual course of his medical practice. In particular, the "patients" were not given proper medical examinations prior to the issuance of the prescriptions for the controlled substances. The "patients" would then provide money in return for the issuance of the prescriptions. The “patients” picked up the prescriptions at Walnut Hills Family Care.

Sievers pleaded guilty on June 10, 1009 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics. Ten people, including Sievers, were convicted in connection with the operation.

Hunt commended the cooperative investigation by the agents and officers, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheila Lafferty, who is prosecuting the case. The DEA Dayton Resident Office and the Warren County Drug Task Force began the investigation. Agencies participating in the investigation include the Dayton Police Department, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy, the Ohio State Medical Board and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.