Kansas Doctor Charged in Federal Indictment With Prescribing Outside Course of Medical Practice and Unlawful Distribution. Allegation that Patient Died From Methadone and Xanax Prescription. Eight Patients Charged With Unlawful Distribution.

In a recent case, not only is the physician charged but patients as well who obtained Schedule II and III medications and sold them.  This is a new trend in charging both the patients and physicians where there has been diversion of the medications.

A federal indictment unsealed on January 14, 2016 in Kansas federal court alleges a Wichita doctor diverted prescription drugs to the streets, resulting in one of his patients dying from an overdose. Eight people who got prescriptions from the doctor also are charged with unlawfully distributing prescription drugs.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

Dr. Steven R. Henson who operated Kansas Men’s Clinic in Wichita is charged with:

Conspiracy to distribute prescription drugs outside the course of medical practice (Counts 1 and 2); Unlawfully distributing oxycodone (Counts 3 through 15); Unlawfully distributing oxycodone, methadone and alprazolam (Count 16); Unlawfully distributing methadone and alprazolam, resulting in the death of a victim on July 24, 2015, identified in court records as N.M. (Count 17); Unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (Count 18); Presenting false patient records to investigators (Count 19); Obstruction of justice (Count 20); and Money laundering (Counts 21 through 31).

The indictment alleges Dr. Henson:

Wrote prescriptions without a medical need;

Wrote prescriptions without a legitimate medical exam; 
Wrote prescriptions in return for cash; 

Post-dated prescriptions; and 

Wrote prescriptions for people other than the ones who came to see him.

The eight patients are named as co-conspirators in some of the same counts as the physician. The counts charged against the physician carry sentence exposure up to a maximum of 20 years.