Ypsilanti physician among 6 doctors accused of writing illegal prescriptions in drug pipeline

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An Ypsilanti physician is among six Michigan doctors accused of illegally writing prescriptions for millions of doses of prescription painkillers that were funneled in a drug pipeline along U.S. 23 to points south including Portsmouth, Ohio.

Dr. Muhammad Ahmed, 65, of Ypsilanti and the other five doctors are among 44 people indicted on 13 counts in the federal case that prosecutors say involves the acquisition and distribution of OxyContin, Vicodin and Xanax.

According to 2008 filings in the National Provider Index Registry, Ahmed is last known to have practiced at a medical office at 16000 West 9 Mile Road Suite 313 next to Providence Hospital in Southfield.

A staff member at that location said Ahmed no longer works there.

Ahmed’s license to practice as a doctor in Ypsilanti is active, per the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs license database.

There have been no complaints filed with the state regarding Ahmed. His medical license was issued in 1976, and expires Jan. 31, 2014, according to state records.

Ahmed also has a pharmacy license for Schedule III controlled substances that expires Jan. 31, 2014.

Ahmed can continue to practice until his license is suspended, said Jeannie Vogel, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Representatives for the University of Michigan Health System, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Health System and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System said they have no record of Ahmed working at their facilities.

The prescription drug scheme reportedly began in 2008 and involved six medical clinics operated by four individuals indicted in the case: Sardar Ashrafkhan, Deepak Kumar, John Check and David Vezzossi, according to the indictment.

Those individuals employed different doctors throughout the scheme, including Ahmed, the indictment alleges.

“Each of the prescribers knowingly prescribed prescription drug controlled substances outside the course of legitimate medical practice and for no legitimate medical purpose, in furtherance of the scheme,” the indictment reads.

The other doctors allegedly used in the scheme that were indicted are Dr. Adelfo Pamatmat, 67, of Farmington Hills; Dr. John Geralt, 84, of Beverly Hills; Dr. Malik Dababneh, 53 of Oxford; Dr. Paul Kelly, 76, of Bath, and Dr. Ravi Iyer, 42, of Novi.

The six doctors, as well as physician assistant Timothy Spencer, 64, of Inkster, indicted in the scheme are accused of prescribing a total of 500,000 doses of OxyContin, which carry a street value of more than $10 million.

The doctors are also accused of prescribing more than 2 million doses of Vicodin, 1 million doses of Xanax and more than 1,000 liters of codeine cough syrup.

According to the indictment, Ahmed and the other doctors made money by writing prescriptions or by signing blank prescriptions, at times without an examination of the patient.

Those prescriptions were fed to a person acting as a patient recruiter, who filled the prescriptions at cooperating pharmacies and then transferred them for illegal sale on the street.

Medicare and Medicaid patients were targeted in this scheme, so that doctor visits and medical tests used to gain prescriptions were billed to the federal programs, according to the indictment.

Billings to the Medicare program in this scheme exceeded $20 million, according to the indictment.

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.