Eight people from Tennessee's Eastern District among 60 nabbed in illegal prescription opioid crackdown

CINCINNATI (AP) - Federal authorities say they have charged 60 people, including 31 doctors and eight people from Tennessee's Eastern District, for their roles in illegal prescribing and distributing of opioids and other dangerous drugs.

The action announced Wednesday in Cincinnati and Washington resulted from the federal Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force and includes defendants in at least seven states: Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Authorities say the 60 include a total of 53 medical professionals tied to some 350,000 prescriptions and 32 million pills.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, eight people, including five doctors, a nurse practitioner, a physician's assistant and an office manager, were charged in four cases in the Eastern District. Four doctors, a nurse practitioner and a physician's assistant were charged with the unlawful distribution of opioids. Two doctors were charged with health care fraud violations. Three of the cases relate to alleged pill mill operations in the Eastern District of Tennessee, the department said in a news release.

Dr. Charles Brooks, 61, of Maryville, Tennessee, was indicted on April 2 by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to distribute Schedule III, IV and V drugs as well as one count of healthcare fraud for aiding and abetting a false statement related to health care matters.

Dr. Stephen Mynatt, 64, of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dr. David Newman, 58, of Maryville, Tennessee, were indicted on April 16 on charges of conspiracy to distribute Schedule II controlled drugs. Mynatt also was charged with two counts of distribution of Schedule II drugs. Both Mynatt and Newman were affiliated with Tennessee Valley Pain Specialists, according to the justice department.

Also on April 16, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Dr. Henry Babenco, 58, of Paducah, Kentucky; Sharon Naylor, 53, of Jacksboro, Tennessee; Alicia Taylor, 29, of Oneida, Tennessee; and Gregory Madron, 54, of Jacksboro, Tennessee, charging each of them with conspiracy to distribute Schedule II controlled drugs. Naylor and Babenco also were charged with money laundering. Babenco, Naylor, Taylor and Madron all were associated with the LaFollette Wellness Center.

Dr. Harrison Yang, 75, of Manchester, Tennessee, also was indicted on April 16 on healthcare fraud violations.

U.S. health authorities have reported there were more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017, for a rate of 21.7 per 100,000 people. West Virginia and Ohio have regularly been among the states with the highest overdose death rates, as the opioid crisis has swelled in recent years.

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