Criminal Justice

A doctor in Ohio pleaded guilty to multiple counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other controlled substances to patients for whom the drugs were “medically unnecessary,” according to prosecutors.

A synthetic opioid up to 40 times more powerful than fentanyl is scrambling the public health response to the addiction crisis in a growing number of U.S. cities.

Jeffrey Sutton, 65, a physician who practiced in Niles, Ohio, until early 2022, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, to 31 counts of illegally prescribing patients opioids and other controlled substances, one count of illegally distributing controlled substances, and 20 counts of healthcare fraud.

Kevin Walker Jr. of Lorain was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of drugs and distribution of fentanyl that led to an overdose death, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a news release.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant recently announced the arrests of three drug traffickers after a sizable fentanyl seizure.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed a number of criminal justice changes into law Jan. 3, including the decriminalization of fentanyl test strips in a move that advocates say will be a powerful tool in preventing overdoses.

An osteopathic doctor whose Niles office was raided by the FBI nearly a year ago faces 52 charges accusing him of health care fraud and violating federal laws regulating the dispensing of and distribution of controlled substances.

A federal jury convicted a doctor formerly licensed in Ohio today for illegally prescribing controlled substance pills in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.