A physician in Oak Park pleaded guilty Wednesday to prescribing more than $2 million worth of Oxycodone without medical justification.
Jennifer Franklin, 40, of Harrison Township, entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh.
As part of the plea agreement, Franklin admitted that she conspired with Boris Zigmond between 2013 and April 2015 to prescribe medically unnecessary Oxycodone.
She earned approximately $200,000 from the scheme to distribute Oxycodone.
Zigmond, Dr. Carlos Godoy, and six other co-defendants have previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy.
Acting United States Attorney Daniel Lemisch said more people die from overdoses of prescription drugs in America than from overdoses of all other drugs combined.
"We hope that prosecuting the doctors who are putting these drugs on the streets will deter others from contributing to the experience."
IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Manny Muriel said, “It is unfortunate that greed and the desire for financial gain overpowers a physician’s Hippocratic Oath to use treatment to help the sick, but never with a view to injury and wrongdoing."
"The medically unnecessary prescribing of Oxycodone continues to be a contributing factor to the opioid epidemic that is facing Michigan. IRS and its partners will continue to work to identify those who look to gain financial reward from medically unnecessary prescriptions,” Muriel said.
Zigmond, Franklin and Godoy could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
The sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18, 2017.
