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Press Release

Former Elected County Coroner Convicted for Illegal Distribution of Controlled Substances

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

A federal jury convicted a Kentucky man today for illegally prescribing controlled substances Oxycontin, Klonopin, Ambien, and Valium in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.  

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. David Suetholz, 71, of Ludlow, unlawfully prescribed controlled substances to his patients outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Some patients were prescribed high doses of medication and in dangerous combinations without justification. Suetholz also prescribed to patients without assessing their risks for addiction or their past history of substance abuse.

Suetholz was convicted of 12 counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier, IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division; Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron made the announcement.

The FBI, DEA, HHS-OIG, and the Kentucky Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Dermot Lynch and Maryam Adeyola of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Updated September 15, 2022

Topic
Prescription Drugs
Press Release Number: 22-977