ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke doctor will spend the next three years in prison for over-prescribing opioids to her patients.
Investigators say 70-year-old Verna Mae Lewis made more than $523,000 after continuing opioid prescriptions month after month. The Schedule II controlled substances she prescribed to her patients included high dosages of morphine, oxycodone and hydromorphone and at times, she would prescribe them to her patients with little to no medical justification, according to court documents.
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Evidence also reveals that Lewis prescribed patients opioids regardless of their documented histories of substance abuse, accidental overdoses and previous terminations from other medical practices for testing positive for cocaine and other illicit drugs.
Lewis has pleaded guilty and has agreed to surrender her medical licenses and registrations, to never apply for their reinstatement and to never practice medicine in the future.
She also was fined $10,000 and given a forfeiture money judgment of $500,000.
“Ms. Lewis violated her patients’ trust by placing her own greed before their very real needs,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, who announced her sentence. “This significant sentence sends a strong message that our office will continue to investigate and prosecute any in the health care system who seek to illegally profit from the opioid crisis.”