HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Harrison Township doctor was sentenced to federal prison for illegally writing and distributing prescriptions for painkillers.
Jennifer Franklin, 41, was employed at a clinic owned by Boris Zigmond in Oak Park, Michigan, police said. Franklin admitted in court documents that the prescriptions she wrote were medically unnecessary, officials said.
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Over a 16-month period, Franklin is accused of prescribing around 3,500 unnecessary doses of oxycodone and 7,000 unnecessary doses of hydrocodone.
Franklin, Zigmond and seven others have pleaded guilty for their participation in the scheme.
"This sentence should send a warning to doctors who are putting these drugs on the street: We will prosecute you and seek prison to deter you from contributing to this opioid epidemic," U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said.
Franklin was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.
"The medical field remains one of the most noble careers anyone can enter and we hold those in the medical profession to a higher standard," Special Agent in Charge Tim Plancon, of the Drug Enforcement Agency, said. "This is why the DEA, through regulation and enforcement, will continue to partner with other law enforcement agencies to identify, investigate and prosecute licensed physicians, like Dr. Franklin, who use their medical profession and position to conceal the unlawful diversion and distribution of prescription drugs."
"The medically unnecessary prescribing of oxycodone is a critical contributing factor to the opioid epidemic that is facing Michigan," Special Agent in Charge Manny Muriel said. "IRS-CI (Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation) and its partners will continue to work to identify those who look to gain financial reward from medically unnecessary prescriptions at the unfortunate expense of those who are sick and vulnerable to addiction."