CHATTANOOGA, TN—On June 1, 2015, Ihsaan Al-Amin, 64, of Smyrna, Ga., was sentenced by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 100 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. In November 2013, Dr. Al-Amin pleaded guilty to a one count bill of information charging him with illegally dispensing controlled substances and two counts of an indictment charging him with tax evasion.

Al-Amin operated the O’Neil Pain Clinic in Chattanooga until 2010, when a joint law enforcement investigation revealed that he had illegally prescribed thousands of pills containing opiates and, during 2005 and 2006, significantly under-reported his taxable income on his tax returns.

Agencies involved in this joint investigation included the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, and Tennessee State Health Related Boards. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Brooks represented the United States.

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian said, “We continue to prosecute medical professionals who, by their acts, contribute to the prescription drug problems in Tennessee. Those specially trained in the field of medicine know the effects of their illegal acts regarding prescription drugs.”

“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that illegally prescribing narcotics for profit is a serious crime and will be punished accordingly,” stated Christopher A. Henry, Special Agent in Charge. “IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work with our law enforcement partners, by providing our financial investigative expertise, to shut down these pill mills and stop the flow of these illegal drugs into our communities.”

TBI Director Mark Gwyn added, “Investigations like this one are by their nature very time and labor-intensive, and we were fortunate to work closely with the FBI and IRS on this case. So it is rewarding to see that a doctor who has violated the trust of his patients, and the community as a whole, is getting the message that these actions will not be tolerated. We will pursue them the same way we pursue street traffickers.”