HARLAN, Ky. – Two Tennessee doctors have pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in Kentucky and have agreed to give up $1 million of their bond.
The Harlan Daily Enterprise reports that Nashville doctors Visuvalingam Vilvarajah and Mireille Lalanne entered a guilty plea Monday in Harlan Circuit Court to a charge of facilitation to trafficking a controlled substance.
Harlan County Sheriff Marvin Lipfird said the doctors came under investigation after several drug suspects allegedly had been prescribed narcotics from the doctors.
Harlan Circuit Court Judge Russell Alred allowed the pair to avoid an 11-month jail sentence if they obey terms of their probation for four months.
Commonwealth Attorney Henry Johnson says the doctors also agreed to cease writing prescriptions for Harlan County residents.