Nibedita Mohanty, a 56-year old Stafford doctor, was sentenced to 4-years in prison and 3-years of supervised release, for distribution of controlled substances and aiding and abetting health care fraud.
Mohanty was formerly the Chief of Medicine at Stafford Hospital, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release.
In addition to her jail time, Mohanty has been fined $15,000 and has been ordered to forfeit $43,120.
More from U.S. Department of Justice court documents:
Mohanty admitted to issuing prescriptions for oxycodone which were not for a legitimate medical purpose and beyond the bounds of medical practice. In one such instance, on May 2, 2011, Dr. Mohanty issued a prescription for oxycodone to patient who experienced a nonfatal narcotics overdose. Dr. Mohanty subsequently treated the patient at the hospital. On May 31, 2011, Dr. Mohanty issued another oxycodone prescription to same patient. The next day, the patient was found deceased in the bathroom of a friend’s home. The cause of death was determined to be accidental acute combined oxycodone and imipramine toxicity.
In another instance, on Oct. 3, 2011, Dr. Mohanty issued a prescription for oxycodone to a patient. Nine days later the patient was found unresponsive in her home. Hospital records and testimony would have shown that the nonfatal overdose was oxycodone related.
In addition, Dr. Mohanty admitted that she aided and abetted a patient in the commission of health care fraud. Dr. Mohanty acknowledged that she did not possess a “X” DEA number, nor was she authorized for office-based narcotic buprenorphine treatment. Despite this Dr. Mohanty prescribed Subutex, which contains buprenorphine, to a patient who she was treating for drug addiction and dependence, which was billed to and paid for by the patient’s health insurance.
