UPMC doctor indicted by feds for illegally prescribing opioids
A UPMC doctor charged this month for illegally prescribing thousands of opioid painkillers to just a few people has now been indicted on 88 federal charges relating to health care fraud and controlled substance abuse.
A federal grand jury Wednesday indicted Dr. Omar A. Almusa, 45. The indictment was unsealed Friday.
The indictment came as part of the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit created by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last year. The unit — a part of the Department of Justice — uses data to target opioid-related health care fraud.
“One of the main causes of our nation's drug crisis is the diversion of prescription painkillers,” Sessions said in a statement. “By shutting off the flow of these potentially addictive pills to our streets, this case, and the dozens more we will prosecute across the country, can save lives.”
The indictment alleges that Almusa conspired to create and submit illegal prescriptions for Vicodin, which he then gave to several people who had no medical need for the drugs, said U.S. Attorney Scott Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania.
“If you are abusing the great privilege you have to serve your neighbors in the medical profession or if you are exploiting the weakness and addiction of others, we are coming after you with the full weight and resources of the federal government,” Brady said. “We will take away your livelihood and then we will take away your liberty.”
Almusa and another UPMC physician, Dr. Marios Papachristou, were charged March 1 by UPMC police. Reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Health's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program showed that the two prescribed nearly 10,000 opioid painkillers to five people over two years.
Almusa faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the 86 drug violations, 10 years for one count of conspiracy and up to 10 years for one count of health care fraud.
Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519, mguza@tribweb.com or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib.
